A Guilty Conscience
by Spacecowboy1989
Summary: 16 Year old Jake Brooks blames himself for the death of his father. Now, when his father's friend asks to help stop Team Rocket, it also gives Jake a chance to find the man who killed his father.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Like Father, Like Son

**Chapter 1 - Like Father, Like Son**

A man in his mid fifties stood looking out at the water, he wore a brown cowboy hat, a heavy jacket, and brown slacks. To his right stood his friend and fellow officer Ben Cane, and to his left a boy about six years old lay in the snow, making snow angels. His name was Jacob Brooks

"We'll be moving to the Hoenn Region in May." The man said to Ben.

"Someday you'll explain all this to little Jake right?" Ben asked

"Yeah, I will." Replied Jake's father. "Jake. Let's go home, I've got your Christmas present and I'll give it to you now if you promise to be good."

Little Jake's eyes became the size of quarters. "Whatizzit, Whatizzit? I'll be good," he said as he jumped up and down like he was on springs.

"Alright, here it is." He handed Jake a small ball shaped object in wrapping paper.

Unwrapping it Jake could clearly see that it was a pokeball. He pushed a little white button in the center, causing it to open up. Red light shone from inside the ball as a Pokemon appeared in front of him. It was a bluish-purple catlike Pokemon, and Jake knew exactly what it was. "Oh, wow a  
Shinx!!" Jake shouted with obvious joy.

"His name's Rascal, he's followed me home the last three nights, and so last night I caught him for you." Jake's father said with a smile as he took his hat off and put it on Jake's head, which slid down below his eyes.

Jake tilted it back so he could see and smiled back at his father. "Rascal an' me are gonna be champions, Daddy and nothing will stand in our way."

Standing on the deck of the S.S. Aqua, Jake Brooks stared into the great white void that enveloped the ship and the city they were pulling into. It was seven in the morning and the fog was just clearing, as the ship slid through the harbor with out hardly a sound, and slowly made its way into the port where Jake would get off and meet an old friend.

Jake was 16 years old, wasn't slender yet he wasn't fat, but average more or less, and wore a blue jean jacket, a white t-shirt, blue jean pants, steel toe construction boots, and a brown cowboy hat.

As the ship's crewman let down the ramp, Jake slung his olive green duffle bag over his shoulder and started down the ramp to dry land. It's been ten years, Jake thought to himself, as he eyed the town that lay before him. His father had been a detective here at that time, but (for reasons unknown to Jake) decided to leave Olivine City. Finally after thirty minutes had passed, a voice from behind said: "I'm sorry Mr. Brooks, but you're loitering. I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Jake whirled around to see a man with slightly graying hair, a brown suit, and a badge clipped to his belt that read "Olivine Police".

With a grin Jake asked "And if I don't?"

"I'll have to haul you downtown." The officer replied, also grinning.

After a long silence Jake walked up to the officer and said, "How are you Uncle Ben." as he stretched out his hand to the older man.

"Pretty good. And your self?"

"The years haven't been kind." Jake said thinking about his father.

"I was sorry to hear about Big Jake." Ben said taking Jake's duffle bag, "He was a good cop, and a good friend."

"Well now that I'm here let's get down to business," Jake snapped out of his sorrow and into work mode, "you said that you needed my help."

"You've no doubt heard the news lately," Ben started.

"Yeah, crimes involving theft in the Johto Region are going up."

"Right, and we need a trainer at the Pokemon League conference at Indigo Plateau who's working for the good guys." Ben finished Jake's sentence.

"Why though?" asked Jake in a puzzled way.

"We believe they're planning to hit all trainers who enter the Pokemon League tournament." Ben said as they walked into the Pokemon Center.

"Nurse Joy this is my good friend Jake, and he hails all the way from Mauville City in the Hoenn Region, and I was wondering if you could let him spend the night here in the Pokemon Center."

"Of course Chief Cane, we could let him stay here with us." Nurse Joy said with a warm smile.

"How come I can't stay at your place Ben?" Jake asked.

"I'm going to be out of town meeting with the other Chiefs of Police in the Johto Region for the next three days. Four days from now you better be ready to work, because were going to New Bark Town to get you registered for the Johto League."

"Hey Ben," Jake said just as Ben was about to leave, "why me?"

Ben smiled an old man's smile, "Because I thought you needed an excuse to challenge the Johto League."

After Ben left, Nurse Joy showed Jake to his room, "You'll sleep here for the night." She said to him with yet another warm smile.

Nurse Joy left the room and Jake began unpacking his bag. The contents included: a week's worth of clothes, a plate, fork, knife, spoon, and various other items. As he made sure everything was there he also made sure to shake the bag out. "Huh?" Jake said as a small black box about the size of a Nintendo DS fell onto the bed. Inside was one badge in the top left corner of the box, with a label under it that said Violet City.  
Jake went down stairs to Nurse Joy with the box. "Can I use your phone?"

"Of course, it's for public use." She said with out looking at him.

On the phone to the Olivine Police station, Jake listened to an automated voice prompt, while dialing the appropriate numbers. "Olivine Police Department, can I help you sir?" Jake looked up to see Officer Jenny on the screen smiling at him.

"May I speak to Chief Cane please?" Jake asked looking down at the lone badge.

"Certainly." She replied and in less than a second Ben was on the phone.

"What do ya need Jake" said Ben in a lazy tone.

"Can you tell me if my dad was a trainer before he was a cop?" Jake asked hoping for a straight answer.

"Yeah, you found the case didn't you?" Ben said leaning forward. When Jake nodded he began his story, "When your father and I were a little younger than you we both took the Johto League Challenge. Your father picked Cyndaquil and I picked Charmander, and we both set off. Your father and I were quite the rivals back then, we couldn't even stand the sight of each other. When I finally got to the first stop on the map: Violet City, your father was already walking out of the Violet City Gym with the Thunderhead Badge, which was the badge back then because the Gym Leader was in to electric Pokemon. It's only become the Zephyr Badge in the last fifteen years."

"Why didn't he get the other seven badges?" Jake asked now having more questions than he did before.

"Something came up, I don't know exactly what." Ben answered in a nearly puzzled tone. "Listen kid, I gotta go, but I'll see you in about four days."

"Thanks Ben." They said their goodbyes and hung up the phone.

Jake went outside and down to the water, with the box in his hand, and stared out at the harbor. He looked down at his waist and put his hand on one of the two pokeballs that were clipped to it. Taking it from his waist, he summoned his friend Rascal.

Jake stood on the shore where he and Rascal had first met, "Well buddy, we're goin' on a trip." He pulled his hat down tight, and grinned, "And nothing's stopping us."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - The Would-Be Champion

**Chapter 2 - The Would-Be Champion**

It had been two days since Ben left to meet with the other Police Chiefs in Johto, only two to go until Jake went with him to New Bark Town to get registered for the Johto League Championship.

"C'mon you two," Jake said to Rascal and Lucario, "we're gonna need to be well prepared." He then put on his hat and turned to leave the room. As he came down stairs he waved to Nurse Joy and said, "We'll be back, we're going to the Poke Mart."

"Ok stay out of trouble you three." Nurse Joy said as they walked through the door.  
Jake, Rascal and Lucario walked up the street and turned the corner to a strange sight. The Poke Mart was completely crowded; Jake saw reporters and other people crowding the front entrance of the store. As Jake elbowed his way through the crowd, he heard people say: "I wonder what she's buying," and "Wow I can't wait to meet her."

The double doors of the store opened automatically for Jake; inside was almost completely empty with the exception of one girl at the counter. "I'll take this and this and this. Oh do you have any Dusk Balls?" Obviously in a hurry, she ran back and forth between the shelves and the counter. On every trip back to the counter she always brought back an armful of things.

"That'll be 40,000 dollars." Said the clerk while trying to see over the mass of stuff.

"Here you go." Said the girl, managing to pick up the whole pile in both arms.  
She walked through the double doors that opened automatically, and Jake could hear one reporter say "Rose! Can you tell us..." and was drowned when the double doors shut out all sound.

"Who was that?" Jake asked the clerk.

"Don't you watch TV?" the clerk was counting the money and putting it in the register. "That's Rose Blackthorn. She was almost the champion last year but got beat out by some kid wearing a ball cap. I think he was from the Kanto Region. What was his name, oh yeah it was... " Jake tuned her out.

Jake turned and walked toward the back slowly; he grabbed six dusk balls, six quick balls, and six timer balls.

Rascal lay near the counter looking out through the double glass doors, and Lucario had ran to the back to get himself a soda pop.

"Lucario could you get a couple for Rascal and me too?" Lucario nodded in agreement, and ran to the counter with three bottles of soda.  
Jake walked back up to the counter, and placed all the items he'd just grabbed on it. "What do I owe ya?"

"3,750 dollars." The clerk said looking at the pokeballs and drinks. "Thank you." He nodded as Jake handed him the money.

"Well let's go get some food." Jake said to Lucario and Rascal, "I'm hungry."

The street was completely empty now. The only thing Jake could hear was a dull roar coming from the other side of town. "Wow they move fast."

In the diner Jake sat down with Rascal and Lucario while the waitress handed him a menu. "Can I get that?" Jake pointed to a picture on the front of the menu.  
"Yes, and what will your pokemon have?" she asked looking at Rascal who was gnawing at his left fore leg.

"They'll have the same." Jake said, while poking Rascal's left shoulder. Rascal looked up at Jake who was looking at the waitress.

"Thank you sir, your order will be right out." The waitress turned and walked away.

Jake took his hat off and set it in the chair next to him. He noticed a girl in the back corner wrapped in a shawl and wearing dark sunglasses, trying not to be seen by any one else in the restaurant.

Just when his order came out he heard the door behind him slam open, nearly shattering the glass in the door. Forks scraping on plates, and people talking suddenly stopped to see the person who did it. All eyes were on the front door except Jake who had his back to the door.

"Those are some weak looking pokemon you got there, pal." Said the stranger referring to Rascal and Lucario.  
Rascal's fur stood on end, and a low growl could be heard from deep in his throat. Lucario stood up from the chair he was sitting in, ready to strike.

Jake picked up a napkin, and placed it in his lap, "You wanna find out?" he asked.

"That's why I'm here. I've seen you around town." The stranger said, "And now that I've met you, I'm starting to think you're not worth my time."

"That so? It's illegal to battle in town, so you meet me out side of town at four o'clock sharp." Jake said trying to hide his displeasure.

"Four o'clock then." He turned to leave and stopped, "I won't wait 'til any later."

"You won't have to." Jake picked up his soda and took a drink.

When the door shut, the girl in the shawl came over to Jake's table, "Excuse me, did you know that person?"

"No ma'am, but I think he's got it in for me." Taking a bite of his food, "You must be Rose Blackthorn."

"How did you know?" she looked around to see if anyone had heard.

"Well, if I were you, and I wanted to get away, I'd come to the most obscure diner in town too." Jake pulled out the chair next to him and moved his hat to the table next his. "Eaten yet?"

"No I haven't, thank you." She sat down. "What a cute Luxray you have there."

"His name's Rascal, that's Lucario, and I'm Jake Brooks." He said giving her his hand.

"I'm Rose." She shook his hand.

Time passed without notice and before he knew it, it was already three-thirty. "Well heck, its time." Jake said looking at his watch. He stood up and paid for his and Rose's food, and then turned to leave.

"Do you mind if I come with you?" Rose said also standing up. "This should be interesting."

"Come along." Jake said as he put his hat on and pulled it down tight.

Ben sat in the Indigo Plateau Police Department for what seemed like all day. He'd just begun to watch the TV on the counter when he saw that unmistakable cowboy hat, with that unmistakable kid inside it. "What is he doing?!" Ben stood up and looked around; everyone was staring at him. He walked over to the TV and turned up the volume.

"Well folks, we came out here to confirm sightings of Rose Blackthorn but instead we find a pre-season showdown." The reporter was commentating before the battle had even begun.

"Chief Cane. Your son will see you now." Officer Jenny said, but Ben was glued to the TV. "Chief Cane?"

"Dad, what are you doing?" Ben's son had come out of his office.

"Sorry Jimmy, but this is that kid I told you about. Come watch." Ben was still fixated on the TV.

"Jake's son? He's in Olivine right?" Jimmy walked over to the TV set.

"Yeah. I don't under stand why he's doing this though." Ben rubbed his chin.

There was forty feet between the stranger and Jake when they met. Jake looked around to see a news crew filming the whole thing.

"Looks like I'm gonna make a fool of you on national television." The stranger said with a sneer.

"Don't count on it." Jake turned to see where Rose was. There was a long silence. The wind rustled the red and yellow leaves in the forty feet that separated Jake and the stranger.

"Go, Golem!" He'd made his first move.

"Lucario, you're up!" Lucario stepped out into the field, not needing to be told twice.

"Golem, use Rock Slide!" The stranger shouted.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" Jake said hoping to catch Golem off guard.

Out of nowhere fifty rocks came tumbling out of the trees, all bent on running Lucario into the ground. Lucario skillfully dodged the renegade rocks, and turned back to Golem charging up a sphere of blue light.

"Golem, Earthquake!" He was on to Jake and Lucario's game.

"Lucario, look out!" Lucario released his attack just before Golem could unleash his. Golem went down in an instant.

"Are you kidding me?" The stranger was in disbelief. "Fine. Go, Pidgeotto!"

"Lucario, c'mon back. Rascal your turn" Rascal stepped out now ready to fight.

"Pidgeotto, Hyperbeam." A beam of red and yellow light nearly hit Rascal just barely missing him by inches.

"Rascal, use Thunder Fang." Jake took a step forward. Rascal jumped up and kicked off of a nearby tree giving him the boost he needed to reach Pidgeotto's height. When he reached his foe, he clamped down on its leg and released electricity through his teeth.

Pidgeotto went down for the count. "Return." Pidgeotto turned red, and returned to his pokeball. "Try this." The stranger pulled out his last three, and summoned them all at the same time. They were: Golbat, Wailmer, and Kadabra.

Without hesitation, before the stranger could give a command, Jake gave his command, "Rascal, Thunder." Rascal released all the electricity he had into all three of the other pokemon, knocking them all out.

The stranger hung his head dejectedly. After returning all three of his pokemon he began to walk away pausing only to say: "This isn't the end of it. We will meet again, count on it."

Reporters swarmed in from all sides. "Mister, why were you two battling?" "Who was that?" "Who are you?" "Where are you from?" "Are you going to take on the Johto League?" Everyone was asking questions.

A female voice interrupted, "Hey, Rose Blackthorn is down at the beach!" every reporter within a hundred yards began running to the beach on the other side of town.

Jake stood there, stunned. Rose walked up trying to contain her laughter. "Rose, I thought they were gonna eat me alive!"  
"Welcome to my world." Rose was about to burst out laughing.

That night, Jake lay on his bed watching the news when his story came on, "...In other news, two relatively unknown pokemon trainers battled outside the city limits. It is unknown what the reasoning was behind the battle or how it started. As the footage here shows the battle was a quick one."

"Great, I've managed to get the entire region's attention." Jake said to him self, "Well, I'll worry about it in the morning." Jake switched off the TV, rolled over and went to sleep.

"Can you believe that?" Ben sat on the hotel balcony looking out toward the stadium. "His TV debut convinced the other police chiefs to go through with the plan."

"Does he know he's gonna be the bait?" Jimmy asked.

"No, and he doesn't need to know." Ben replied looking down at the pool. "Our main priority is to catch these thieves, and Jake is the only kid his age that I'd trust with this kind of assignment."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Pokemon Center Heist

**Chapter 3 - Pokemon Center Heist **

Jake sat out on the balcony of his room waiting for tomorrow to arrive. He was not a patient person. He couldn't wait until he finally got to leave for New Bark Town, and register to take on the Johto League. Jake propped his feet up on the balcony rail, and pulled his hat down low to block out the rising sun.

He'd been asleep for five minutes when an explosion rocked the Pokemon Center. Jake jumped up and ran down stairs to find a mess. The blast had jarred the doors open that led to the recovery room; smoke poured through them into the waiting room where Jake was. "What was that?"

Nurse Joy who had been behind the counter was calling the police. "I don't know!"

"Rascal, let's check it out!" Jake yelled as he ran through the doors. The recovery room looked worse than the waiting room. Pokeballs were scattered everywhere, and three men in the back were loading everything they could grab onto a large truck. "Hey! Stop right there." The men stopped at the sound of Jake's voice.

Out of the shadows came a large gray fist that connected with the left side of Jake's head. The men jumped in the truck, and shut the doors. Jake stood up and ran to the back of the truck, climbed on, and hung on for dear life.

Rose had heard an explosion a block away, and ran to check it out. She had just entered the Pokemon Center when she heard tires squealing out in the front. When she got outside she could see a truck screaming down the road with Jake hanging off of the back. Behind her Jake's Luxray came running out of the building with Jake's hat in its mouth, and in one bound, leapt up on the rooftop of the nearest building and started running in the direction of the truck.

"Go, Adrian." Rose had summoned her biggest, and fastest pokemon, "I need a ride." Rose said climbing up on her back. "Follow that truck!"

Jake had finally managed to pull himself up on the roof of the truck when the driver slammed on the brakes to stop for an old man and his cart, which were in the middle of the road. Jake, (unable to find a handhold) slid off the front of the truck and hit the cart. The truck once again sped away, but this time Jake didn't chase it after finding he'd dislocated his left shoulder.

An Arcanine showed up just in time with Rose riding on it's back. "Climb on!" She yelled as the Arcanine came to a stop. Jake gave her his right hand, and she pulled him up behind her. The Arcanine started off again, and caught up with the truck in three bounds. "Adrian, use flamethrower on his right front wheel!" Arcanine unleashed a blast of fire into the right front of the truck. The truck's tire blew out and caused the truck to roll over, and skid on its side for hundreds of feet.

Jake jumped off of Arcanine's back, and ran up to the truck, now joined by Rascal who had been keeping up on the rooftops. Jake took his hat from Rascal's mouth and said "Thank you." Then he turned and climbed up on the driver's side of the truck, which was now facing the sky. When he opened the door, the same gray fist as before came out of the cab, and connected with his lower jaw, only this time Jake saw his attacker. It was a Machamp. "Rascal, use thunder wave on Machamp!" Rascal unleashed a wave of electricity that shocked Machamp into submission.

The driver kicked out the windshield and started to run, but Rose's Arcanine moved to block the road ahead of him; he was trapped.

Sirens could be heard coming up the road, with Officer Jenny on her motorcycle in the lead. "The cavalry's comin' friend, why don't you give yourself up." Jake said trying to reason with him.

"Because I'm gonna be rich!" the driver pulled out a small pellet and smashed it on the ground. A cloud of smoke filled the street, which nearly choked Jake and Rascal to death. They could hear him say: "What are you doing? Put me down!" When the smoke cleared he was being held up by the collar of his coat, in the mouth of Rose's Arcanine.

"Good work." Jake said to the Arcanine. "Now if you'll excuse us, I've gotta see a doctor."

"What for?" Rose asked

Without turning around or stopping Jake said, "When I fell off that truck, I dislocated my shoulder."

Rose was shocked, though now that she thought about it, she did notice he'd been favoring it since she picked him up back there.

Jake stood in front of the counter as Nurse Joy explained the severity of his wounds. "Luckily, you didn't tear any ligaments or permanently damage any muscles but you are going to feel that for a couple days." She was thumbing through the X-rays of Jake's shoulder and arm, "I also would suggest you keep that on." She noticed he was trying to pull out of the sling that she'd put on him no more than ten minutes ago.

Jake suddenly stopped and said in a very soft and quiet voice: "ooouuuccchhh"

Nurse Joy looked at him for a moment and finally said: "Told ya."

Jake went up stairs, and turned on the TV. He was just sitting down when he heard: "We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news coverage. We go now live to Kerrie Woods at the Olivine Pokemon Center.

"Dave, the scene here was of utter chaos, as three masked men raided the Olivine Pokemon Center and took as many as six hundred pokemon. The truck, which the thieves used, was later found fifteen blocks away turned over on its side. Police apprehended two of the three thieves, and the third has been identified as Billy Marshall."

Jake shut off the TV, "Well at least this time I didn't get in the news." He let out a sigh of relief as the phone on the stand by the bed rang. "Hello?"

"Hey, partner." Ben answered Jake's answer.

"Ben!" Jake almost yelled. "You heard about the attempted robbery?"

"Yeah, that's partly the reason I'm coming back early." Ben said looking down at his bags. "I'm taking the magnet train to Goldenrod City, and then I'll take a car back to Olivine City."

"Are you in the train station?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, and I oughta be back around four o'clock." Ben said staring at the train as it pulled in.

"Will we go to New Bark Town today then?"

"No. Professor Elm won't be expecting us until tomorrow." Ben was listening for the call to board the train. "Hey, I gotta go, they're about to load the train."

"All right, see you when you get here." Jake hung up the phone, and lay back on the bed. He tried once more to get his sling off, and this time managed it without hurting himself.

He gave the sling back to Nurse Joy, and said "Please don't tell Ben about what I did this morning. I don't want him to worry."

"He won't here it from me." She said with a nod and a smile.

The rest of the afternoon was a blur for Jake. He slept most of the day, until Ben showed.

"Now tomorrow, when we go to the lab in New Bark Town, do you tell Professor Elm about your mission?"

"No"

"Do you tell that cute little redhead you've been hangin' out with lately?"

"No" Jake thought for a moment, and then his jaw dropped. "What??"

"Yes I know about Rose Blackthorn." Ben said looking down at Jake, who was sitting on the hood of Ben's car. "Now c'mon, we're going to get a bite to eat."

"That's good. Where at?" Jake said wondering if he new about how the trouble started yesterday.

"I know a place down by the docks." Ben said.

Ben and Jake went down to the diner that Jake was very familiar with. As they sat down at the corner table that Rose sat in the day before, Jake could see all of the regulars turning to stare suspiciously. Jake pulled his hat down low so his eyes couldn't meet with anyone else's.

"Jake, they're staring at us like we've got the plague or somethin'" Ben looked around. "What did you do?"

"Well some guy stormed in here yesterday and challenged me. I'm sure you saw the battle on the news. Anyway he called Rascal and Lucario weak, so we had it out right outside of town." Jake explained himself as he reached out to grab a roll.

Rascal, whom Ben hadn't noticed was still with them yawned, stretched and went back to sleep.

"Jake, you gotta learn to keep your cool, buddy." Ben whispered. "A mean temper doesn't leave a good impression on strangers."

"Yeah I know, it's something I gotta work on." Jake acknowledged.

"I wasn't gonna tell you 'til tomorrow, but somebody told me, that your ol' pal Red is gonna be in New Bark Town tomorrow." Ben was staring at the table now. "Maybe if you wanna go meet see 'em, we can."

"Well, heck yeah I wanna go see 'em." Jake smiled. "It's been about four years." Jake was thoughtful for a minute. "Hey Ben, I know your gonna find out sooner or later, and I'd rather you found out from me." Jake said thinking.

"What's that?"

"I helped stop the truck that robbed the Pokemon Center." Jake confessed.

"I kinda figured that." Ben said.

"And you're not mad 'cause I put my life in danger?" Jake looked puzzled.

"Your old man was a cop once. I knew you would pull the same kind of heroics he would've." Ben paused for a second. "I also know that I couldn't stop you if I wanted to."

Somewhere in the Orange Islands.

One of the thieves from the Pokemon Center heist stood in front of an older man sitting behind a desk in an old office building.

"I don't know what to tell ya boss. That kid is a lot stronger than you thought." He said pleading to

The man behind the desk leaned forward out of the shadows. He was an older man in his late sixties, his hair was snow white, and he had a goatee. "You've done well. You weren't supposed to succeed, you were just baiting the hook." He said in an old, but evil voice. "And now the only thing left to do is sink the catch."

As the thug left, the old man turned around to look at his Luxray. "Well Luxray, everything is on schedule. The Mauville Kid will pay for what happened to you."

The Luxray stepped out of the shadows to reveal a scar over the left of his golden gleaming eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Enter Billy and Bonnie: The Rocket Duo

**Chapter 4 - Enter Billy and Bonnie: The Rocket Duo**

The Magnet Train was quiet except for the dull thrum of the wheels on the track and the occasional "clickity-clack." Jake's head lolled as the train lost speed whenever it would come to a bend in the rail-road.

Jake groggily looked outside to see that it was still early in the morning. The sun was just now breaking the peak of Mt. Silver.

A voice came over the intercom, and said, "We will arrive in New Bark Town in five minutes."

Jake slowly slipped into a deep sleep.

Suddenly he was standing in a large warehouse with a spindly, wooden chair in the center. He recognized the place, but didn't want to believe his eyes. A younger version of himself sat, strapped to the chair in the center. His head was hung to where the brim of his father's hat covered his eyes.

This came as a relief to Jake because he didn't want to see the boy's eyes. They must've been in pain.

A growl came from a cage in the back of the room. Jake whirled around to see a large cage with a massive black dragon inside it.

"He's magnificent isn't he?" The voice of an older man said. His name, Jake couldn't recall, but his face was burned into his memory forever.

He had a ragged and weathered face that could have been made of stone. His ice blue eyes mirrored Jake's cold grey eyes. With a goatee on his chin and a thin beard, this man was a man to fear.

Jake started to speak but the boy spoke first. He took the words right from Jake's mouth. "Go to hell." He said weakly.

"Hey! Sleepin' beauty! Wake up, it's time to go!" A finger jabbed Jake's rib cage sharply, and Jake bolted awake in a cold sweat. Ben's six foot frame towered over Jake. Jake was back on the train. "You okay? You look like you had a bad dream."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go see the professor." Jake said, wiping the sweat off of his forehead.

Rascal stepped over Jake's lap, and out into the aisle, and then Jake stood up. There was a numb spot where Rascal's head had been resting on Jake's leg.

They went to the pokemon lab where they were to meet Professor Elm. On the way they met an odd elderly couple and a very ugly kid. They claimed that the lady was a psychic and could tell Jake exactly what his Luxray was thinking, but Jake paid them no attention. "We don't have time for cheap parlor games." He said to Ben who gave Jake a funny look. "Besides I've seen pokemon get stolen like that before." He added in a softer voice, as if revealing the real reason for avoiding them.

He remembered back to all of the times someone had tried to steal Rascal.

They walked into the pokemon lab. Jake was amazed by all of the books the laboratory had. "If this wasn't a lab it could sure pass for a library." Jake said to Ben who whistled in amazement.

As they moved deeper into the lab they heard a person reading aloud but in a very soft tone. "…the Lucario is a rare species that can only be found in the Sinnoh Region." Then without, making a sound he looked up. "Oh, hello. I didn't hear you come in." He smiled and held out his hand. "I'm Professor Elm, the official Pokemon Professor for this region."

Ben shook his hand, and said, "I'm Ben Cane; we talked on the phone a few days ago. And this is Jake Brooks, the boy that I need you to register into the Pokemon League."

Professor Elm adjusted his glasses. "Has Jake been registered in any other region than here?" he asked.

"Yes." Jake interrupted. "I was registered in the Hoenn League six years ago."

"Ok, that saves me a lot of work. All I need you to do is sign this trainer's card…" Professor Elm said handing him an I.D. "…and enter your name into the computer." He pulled the chair out of his desk so that Jake could sit down at the computer.

After Jake did these two things, Professor Elm looked at him and said; "Ok now it's time for you to pick your first Johto Pokemon." He laid three pokeballs on his desk

Jake picked up the pokeball that had a fire emblem on it. "I choose Cyndaquil." He said without a second thought. He pushed the button on the center and released a porcupine-like pokemon. The flame quills on its back were retracted, which made him look very harmless. "Hey there little guy."

The Cyndaquil looked up at him, and cocked its head to the right. Then Cyndaquil jumped into his arms happily.

"Looks like he likes you kid," Ben said. "I think we should get you started off on your journey."

"Alright, sounds good to me." Jake said. "Cyndaquil, return." The pokemon turned red and disappeared into the pokeball. Jake stood up and turned and before leaving he said, "Thank you Professor."

Before he made it outside the door opened and a person walked in who was about Jake's age, maybe younger. He stood about five and a half feet tall, and wore a red and black baseball cap. "I don't believe it." He said looking Jake right in the eyes.

Jake recognized him automatically and grinned. "Well you'd better believe it! Otherwise you don't know me half as well as I thought you did."

"Jake, I haven't seen or heard from you in almost six years!" The boy exclaimed.

"Four." Jake corrected.

"Six." He said quickly. "You and your dad came out to Pallet Town about six years ago. Just before all the insanity I went through with Team Rocket."

Jake thought for a minute, "Either way it's good to see ya again Red."

"So what are ya doin' out here?" Red asked.

"I heard you were in town and came to visit." Jake replied in a jokingly.

"Bull."

"Heh, you're right. I came to challenge the Johto League." Jake became serious now. "But I did know you were gonna be in town."

"Well it's been good to see ya Jake." Red went and spoke with Professor Elm, and then came back to the door.

They stepped outside and Red started back towards the road back to Pallet Town. Jake turned and walked in the opposite direction. Rascal walked beside him looking around cautiously. Jake had an uneasy feeling about his surroundings. They made it all the way down Main Street, when they heard a voice come over the city-wide PA system. A female voice said: Citizens of New Bark Town! A robbery is taking place at the pokemon lab. A curfew is in effect as of now. Anyone caught on the streets will be arrested immediately!"

People began murmuring amongst themselves. All eyes turned toward Jake who apparently was the only stranger in town. Jake started back toward the pokemon lab. "We were only five blocks away. How could someone have robbed it that quickly?" Jake said to Rascal who ran with him.

Then Officer Jenny pulled up on her motorcycle. "Are you Jake Brooks?" she asked.

Jake took off his hat, "Yes Ma'am."

"Chief Cane is in trouble!" She said as Jake ran around to the side car and climbed in. Jenny's tires squealed as they sped away, with Rascal effortlessly keeping up.

Jake tugged on his hat to keep the wind from grabbing it. "What kind of trouble?" He yelled over the roar of the motorcycle's engine.

"They have him pinned down in the town square, along with Rose Blackthorn." She replied. Jenny squeezed on the brakes and the motorcycle squealed to a halt. She swung her leg over and got off of the bike. Jenny and Jake were at a restaurant just outside of the town square where Jake could hear a lot of commotion. They peeked around the corner to see that Ben and Rose were behind a police car, with pin missiles raining down all around them. Jake's eyes followed the silver pins all the way back to their source. An Umbreon stood on the rooftop of a building using Pin Missile.

Jake thought quickly, then turned and grabbed one of the wooden tables outside of the restaurant. He used it as a shield as he ran across the plaza to the car that Ben and Rose were using for cover. "What's she doing here?" He asked.

"I'm a pokemon trainer. This is where trainers register for the year." She said as the left front tire of the police cruiser deflated. Her expression had "DUH!" written all over it.

"Ok, so you have a right to be here." He said. Then he turned to Ben, "But why do you have a police car? You're the chief of Olivine."

Ben looked at Jake. "I umm, commandeered it." Ben turned and looked through the passenger side window. "I think Rascal can use Thunder Wave, and paralyze that Umbreon, but I'll have to distract him."

"No, I'll distract him." Jake said taking out a pokeball, with a lopsided grin on his face. He looked at Rascal, "When Ben gives you the signal, you use Thunder Wave on that Umbreon. Got it?"

Rascal acknowledged with a growl.

"Go Rapidash!" Jake opened the pokeball letting out the horse pokemon. He ran up and swung himself up on Rapidash's back. "Let's ride!"

"Oh no." Ben said quietly.

"What?" Rose asked.  
"He's smiling." He put his head in his hands.

"Is that bad?"

"It's never ever a good sign." Ben said.

Rapidash's hooves clopped on the asphalt in great bounds. The Umbreon turned its attention away from the police car and on to Jake and Rapidash who were riding around the plaza. As the silver pins began to rain down all around Jake and Rapidash, Jake heard Ben yell "Now!"

Rascal jumped up on the hood of the police car, and unleashed his wave of electricity. The Umbreon was caught off guard, and dropped to the roof, paralyzed as planned. Jake heard a male voice yell "Return!" and then a female voice yelled "Go, Espeon!"

Jake and Rapidash rode around to the back of the building, where they came to a stop. "Rapidash, use Bounce." Jake said quietly so the thieves were not alerted. Rapidash jumped high into the air, with Jake holding on tight, and landed on the rooftop where the thieves were at. The roof cracked under the pressure of Rapidash's landing.

A male and a female were on the rooftop. They both whirled around when Jake jumped off of Rapidash's back and yelled "Hey!" They both wore Team Rocket uniforms. The female had flowing blonde hair and blue eyes. And the male, Jake recognized to be none other than the trainer who challenged him in the Olivine Diner two days ago. He had jet-black hair as black as his uniform, and black eyes to match.

"Billy, he's so much cuter than you described him to be. And those pale gray eyes are to die for." The girl said to the male. "Can we keep him?"

"Well Bonnie, I guess I didn't have a woman's perspective." Billy replied to her.

"You two caused a lot of trouble today, and coulda got somebody killed." Jake interrupted.

"Excuse me if I'm not all broken up about that." Billy said.

"I also want what ever it is that you stole from the lab." Jake added.

"Sorry cutie, no can do." Bonnie said with a malicious smile.

Rascal jumped up and joined Jake, and Rapidash. "Well, I guess we'll have to fight you for it then."

"Fine, you'll lose." Billy glared at Jake. "Bonnie, stay out of this, I have a score to settle." He took out two pokeballs, and unleashed Golem and Pidgeotto. "Golem, use Rock Throw. Pidgeotto, use Hyper Beam."

"Rapidash, use Horn Drill. Rascal, use Hyper Beam." Jake called to his pokemon. Rascal and Pidgeotto's Hyper Beams caused an explosion in between them, as they met half way, and Rapidash used its horn to drill right through the rocks that were thrown at Rascal.

Their battle was interrupted by the sound of sirens, screaming down Main Street. "Billy, I think it's time we cut our losses and get out of here." Bonnie said, grabbing Billy's arm.

"Yes, perhaps you're right." He looked at Jake. "We'll finish this later cowboy." Billy returned his pokemon and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a tiny capsule and slammed it on the ground. Smoke erupted instantly. When Jake looked up they were gone.

Ben and Rose suddenly appeared over the edge of the roof. They had come up the fire escape. "Who was it?" Ben asked.

"It was Team Rocket. A pair of villains callin' themselves Billy and Bonnie." Jake looked around. "There's more, Billy's the one I fought in Olivine day before yesterday."

"Where'd they go?" Ben asked.

"They disappeared; Billy had some kinda smoke bomb." Jake answered.

"Just like the robbery yesterday." Rose chimed in.

"Right." Jake agreed.

That night Jake threw his bag down on the bed in one of the spare rooms in the Pokemon Center.

"I'm sorry Jake, but they can't let anyone go until they're sure Billy and Bonnie do have the fossil." Ben said. "I even heard Red was nearly robbed by another pair of thieves who were after the other fossil."

"So, explain to me what Professor Elm told you about the fossil that Billy and Bonnie have." Jake said.

"Well, he said that his scientists uncovered two fossils. One was the Lugia's wishbone which Red has, and the other was one of Lugia's lower vertebrae." Ben explained.

"What do ya think they'll do with it?" Jake asked.

Ben scoffed. "Probably sell it."

"You don't think they could clone it do you?"

"It's a possibility." Ben said. A possibility that neither one of them wanted to consider. "With Lugia at his command, Giovanni would be unstoppable."

Jake went down into the lobby where he found Red healing his pokemon. A Pikachu was with him that wasn't with him in the lab. "Hey." Jake said to Red.

"Hey Jake." Red said back. "I heard that you had some excitement today."

"Yeah, nothin' that Rascal and me couldn't handle." Jake said looking down at Rascal. "I heard they came after you too."

"Yup, but Pikachu put 'em in their place." Red chuckled.

Ben and Rose stood across the room, just out of ear shot of Jake and Red. "I can just see the rivalry between them." Ben said.

"They seem perfectly normal to me." Rose said to Ben.

"You just watch them further down the line. Sooner or later, they'll have to find out which one of them is best." Ben replied.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Assasination's the Name of the Game

**Chapter 5: Assasination's the Name of the Game**

Jake lay asleep on the balcony of the Pokemon Center. The balcony looked out over the small town, allowed a view of the town that one didn't have from anywhere else in the town.

In the past four years he had developed an annoying case of reoccurring nightmares. Some nights he would wake up in a cold sweat, scared nearly to death. Other nights he would simply wake up and find himself sleeping where he hadn't been sleeping before.

He'd been to see every professional in the Johto Region, and some even in the Kanto Region. All but one told Jake they couldn't help. The one that could help however was a powerful psychic pokemon trainer.

She was beautiful. In some ways she was kind, and in other ways she was very brutal. She was sixteen at the time he came to her for help.  
Though she was four years older than him, Jake began to fall in love with her. He could never be fully sure if she felt the same way at the time, but now that he was sixteen himself, he assured himself that she had no such feelings toward him. But it was an entertaining thought for Jake.

Jake woke up and shifted his wait a little to make himself more comfortable in the chair he slept in. Quickly, he jumped up.

"What the hell?" He muttered to himself, realizing he wasn't sleeping on his bed. For a minute he thought he heard breathing in his room, but dismissed it.

He walked over to the bed and began to pull back the covers when he suddenly felt his air passage-ways close. Jake heard laughter coming from behind him, and the sound of a pokemon.

"No one stops Team Rocket from getting our way." The sinister voice laughed louder. "Finish him."

"Dabra." The pokemon acknowledged him. Before he could administer the maneuver that would snap Jake's neck, the pokemon was tackled by a shadowy figure. The Kadabra lost his concentration and let go of Jake, who began to gasp for air.

The man displayed his cowardice by abandoning his pokemon and running for the window.

Jake turned and tackled the man right through the window and over the balcony. Their fall was broken by a stand of watermelons that had been suspiciously parked right underneath his second story window.

The man rolled off of the stand and began to run, but Jake grabbed his foot and brought him to the concrete. In a rage, Jake straddled the man's stomach and began punching him repeatedly until his arm was sore.

There was a pair of loud (decidedly female) squeals that could have shattered windows. A big strong arm pulled Jake off of the man.  
Jake reacted by taking a swing at the stranger, but it was caught by the stranger's free hand.

"You finished?" Asked the familiar voice.

"I was just getting started, Ben." Jake replied gruffly.

The two females were Rose and Nurse Joy, who had let themselves into Jake's room, after hearing the commotion, and found the Kadabra with his arm halfway down Rascal's throat.

Ben handcuffed the man to a nearby street sign and helped Jake, who was limping badly, up the stairs.

When they got to his room, Jake coaxed Rascal into letting go of Kadabra's arm. Jake pulled out the Kadabra's pokeball, which he took from the man,  
and returned Kadabra to it. He then clipped the ball to his belt.

"What are you doing?" Ben asked.

"Takin' this guy's pokemon. He won't need it where he's goin' for one, and for two, he was willin' to let this poor devil get eaten by Rascal, and for three, the Police Department's just gonna confiscate 'em and then put 'em in some kind of rehab center and turn him into a waffle eatin' pansy." Jake explained. "I believe I can train him."

Ben stared at Jake for a minute, "That mind of yours sure works awfully fast for a kid."

"Heh. Under this disguise there's fifty years of experience that I inherited from my father. He was a good teacher." Jake remarked, looking up at Ben.

"Alright, you can keep 'em. But don't surprised if that loser outside gets out and comes lookin' for 'em." Ben answered.

"Oh boys. Hate to disappoint you, but he's gone." Rose said sardonically.

Jake and Ben hurried over to the balcony to look out at the street sign he was handcuffed to. The handcuffs were at the bottom of the sign post with no occupants inside them.

"Jake, you'd better be lookin' over your shoulder really good tomorrow." Ben said.

"That's not the best part. Team Rocket sent him to kill me." Jake said with a grin on his face.

"Oh hell. Here we go again." Ben said turning to look out at the city.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Wanted: The Master Thief

**Chapter 6 - Wanted: The Master Thief**

Jake happily walked down the street followed closely by Rascal and Cyndaquil. After the previous night's events, Jake was quite worn out and his leg was still in pain. "Falling out of a second story window will do that to ya, buddy." Ben's voice echoed in his mind.

Jake smiled at the sight before him. Rascal and Cyndaquil had become fast friends. In an after-thought-like manner, Jake announced, "It's time to give you a name!"

Rascal turned around so that Cyndaquil (who was riding on Rascal's back) could see Jake. Cyndaquil looked up at Jake, who stared back.

"I think I'll call you… Cole." Jake said after a long minute of thought. "It's got a nice ring, and it rhymes with 'coal', which would make sense because you're a fire type pokemon."

Cole appeared happy with his new name.

Jake smiled down at Cole.

Suddenly out of no where a boy, who appeared to be about ten years old, ran out of the crowd, and bumped into Jake. He was accompanied by a Shinx that was quite dirty. "Sorry, mister." The boy said, and kept walking. He wore a solid black ball cap and dog tags, similar to the ones Jake was wearing. His clothes were dirty and his hair was a mess.

Jake would have passed him off as homeless, if he didn't know what being what a ten year-old was like. You play in the mud, have fun with you're pokemon and most of all enjoy childhood.

The boy continued down the street until he bumped into another man, to which he replied "Sorry, mister."

Another eight seconds passed before the same man got fifty feet before turning and screaming "My wallet!" Jake was dumbfounded by this exclamation, until subconsciously felt his pockets, and realized his wallet, and the badge case his father had left him were both gone.

"That little…" Jake cut himself off, remembering his manners. He took off in a dead sprint after the boy, who had made it all the way to the end of the street, and around the corner. When Jake rounded the corner, the boy was gone.

"Damn It!" Jake yelled angrily as he kicked a garbage can. Apparently theft was being added to the childhood list of activities.

The allies of New Bark Town were like that of every town: dark, damp, and dirty.

The little boy stopped to catch his breath as the little Shinx caught up with the boy and nuzzled his leg like a house cat. The boy knelt beside the Shinx and held out his big haul. "Look at all the stuff we got, Xander. I'm sure Mr. Ryder will pay good money for it all."

Xander nuzzled the boy's leg again.

"Well, well, Johnny boy. It would seem that you have some things to sell me." said a voice from a dark shadow.

"Yes Mr. Ryder, sir. I just got all of this stuff today, sir." Johnny replied

"Hmmm," The average height man towered over little Johnny as he picked through the handful of stolen goods. "Not bad, not bad at all." He came to a leather wallet with a gold watch chain attached to it. He opened the wallet and looked at its contents. Ryder's eyes widened at what they saw. The trainer card inside it said "Brooks, Jacob M." Ryder looked up at the boy. "I'll take this wallet for free, and you can have the money inside it."

"Yes sir." Johnny answered timidly.

"You've done a good bit of work; one day you'll be worthy of joining our ranks." Ryder said with an evil grin on his face. "Now, be off with you."

"Yes sir." Johnny answered again. The thought of joining Team Rocket's ranks was not an appealing thought, but he needed the money badly. When Mr. Ryder handed Johnny the money, Johnny thanked him and left.

As the boy rounded the corner, Ryder pulled out his cell phone and dialed four digits. "Yeah, this is Delta One-Nine. I found my target. What are my orders?"

The voice on the other end of the line was silent for a moment. "Eliminate him."

"I'm sorry Mr. Brooks. There are a hundred boys matching that same description all over the city." The officer said smugly from behind his desk.

"What?! How many of them are pick-pockets though? I'm sure you've busted at least one for theft!"

"I'm sorry sir." The officer said blankly.

Jake stood up and left. "The hell with this. I'm outta here." Jake stormed out of the Police Station with Rascal and Cole, right behind him. "This is ridiculous!" He screamed at no one in particular.

Just as he made it to the other side of the street, he glanced across the four-way intersection and saw the boy and his Shinx.

The boy looked up just in time to make eye contact with Jake. He turned around and sprinted down the sidewalk toward the end of the street.

"Oh no you don't! Rascal, stop him!" Jake shouted as he crossed the intersection right when the light turned green.

The boy glanced back to see that Jake was about to be hit by a car. He grabbed one of his pokeballs, and threw it up. The ball released an Abra who appeared to have been taking a nap. "Abra! Go rescue that guy!" Johnny cried.

The Abra nodded, then disappeared in a flash of light. He reappeared near Jake and grabbed Jake's arm, and they disappeared together. When they reappeared, they were on the sidewalk next to the boy.

Before the boy and his pokemon could run, Jake grabbed him by the collar. Sparks erupted from the boy's Shinx.

Rascal responded by growling at the younger pokemon. The angered growl discouraged the Shinx's attack.

"You robbed me kid. I want everything you took from me." Jake demanded.

"But I don't have it." The boy replied with fear in his eyes.

"What?" Jake refrained from hitting the boy. "Where is it?"

"I sold it." The boy replied still quivering.

Jake sat down and pushed his hat back to where it rested on the crown of his head. He put his head in his hands and allowed himself time to think. "Who did you sell it to?" Jake asked finally.

"I'm not telling." The boy huffed.

Just then, a ball of purple and black hit the concrete in front of Jake, causing an explosion that threw him against the wall next to the sidewalk.

Jake coughed and spat dust out of his mouth. "That was a Shadow Ball attack!" Rascal growled and the flaming spines on Cole's back extended greatly.

Soon evil laughter was heard above the rooftops. Jake and the boy looked up and saw a shadowy figure hovering above the building, all alone. "Well, I had planned to destroy the both of you, and as fortune would have it, I find you together." He said wickedly.

"Mr. Ryder?" The boy seemed shocked.

"That's right Johnny boy, but my name is not Ryder. I am known to most as an assassin, but only those whom I work for know my true name." The man said with a cold grin.

"And for those who seek your services, you are simply known as Broken Sword." Jake finished. Fire flashed through his diamond grey eyes.

The man's grin broadened. "Then you've heard of me?"

"Every ninja alive knows of your exploits with Team Rocket." Jake grinned at his opponent.

"Then you must be a ninja yourself." Broken Sword replied.

"Not officially, but I was trained by one of the best." Jake answered. Rascal had never seen a look like this in his friend's eyes before. "And it's my assumption, that you've been hired to kill me."

The man nodded.

"Bring it on." Jake answered.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - In Harm's Way: Broken Sword Strikes

**Chapter 7 - In Harm's Way: Broken Sword Strikes**

"Bring it on!" Jake called to the assassin.

"Hmph. You have a lot to learn. Too bad you won't live long enough to reget the mistake of not running. Not that you would have been able to escape." Broken Sword said with a grin.

Rascal didn't wait for Jake's command. He leapt high into the air and used Thunder. The bolt appeared to be on a direct path to Broken Sword, but another Shadow Ball attack deflected it away.

"Where did that come from?" Jake asked looking around. "There's no pokemon around here!"

"None that you can see." The assassin answered. He pulled out a pokeball. "Garchomp! ATTACK!!"

The Garchomp appeared and began by swatting Rascal away like a bug.

"Damn!" Jake yelled. He ran over to Rascal. "You ok, partner?"

Rascal growled and moved a little.

"It's ok. You wait here while I make short work of this guy." Jake comforted the Luxray.

"Ok Lucario, use Aura Sphere!" He threw Lucario's pokeball into the street which burst open, and Lucario sprang out already launching his attack.

"Use Giga Impact!"

Garchomp jumped high into the air and suspended their for a moment. His horns began to glow and he launched himself at Lucario.

Lucario's Aura Sphere was deflected like it had hit a freight train. Garchomp's attack continued on and slammed into Lucario who was thrown across the street and into a  
nearby building.

Ben sat down in his seat with his newspaper. He looked out of the window and saw an explosion. "He's at it again..." Ben said to himself getting up and pulling out a pokeball. He stepped off of the train and into the street.

Jake ran down the street with Garchomp close behind him. Johnny, Rascal and Lucario were safely out of the fray because Garchomp had chosen Jake as a target. Jake was now doing the only thing he could do: run like hell.

Jake led him into a public area where lots of people could see the attack. Garchomp stopped chasing Jake and left. Jake remembered that Broken Sword didn't like people watching him "work".

Ben appeared with pokeball in hand. "Jake, what's goin' on?"

Jake looked at Ben. "I think I found him."

"You don't mean..."

Jake nodded solemnly. "I thought I could take him but I guess I thought wrong." He turned to walk back to where Johnny and Rascal were, but Ben stopped him.

"When you replied to my letter about my needing your help, you said you were already planning on coming back to the Johto Region. Would he have anything to do with it?" Ben asked in more of a curious tone than anything else.

"Yes." Was Jake's reply,

"Listen. I don't want you to take the law into your own hands." Ben said.

Jake nodded and walked back to the street where Johnny and Rascal were.

Johnny was less petrified than earlier.

Jake grabbed him by the collar. "Where's my wallet, you little punk?"

Johnny reached into his pocket. "Here it is." He handed Jake the wallet.

"I thought you sold it." Jake said looking down at it.

"We have Xander to thank for that. You saved my life. So I had Xander pick his pockets and get your wallet back." Johnny answered gesturing toward his Shinx.

"Thanks kid." Jake looked back to see Ben.

"I'm calling this whole thing off. It's too dangerous now that Team Rocket's involved." He said with a stern look on his face.

"Ben, I've gotta do this." Jake pled.

"No. You've got no chance against that assassin. If he gets you, you're finished. I'm not  
going to lose another friend." Ben folded his arms.

"Ben, I've got it covered. If I just keep out of his sights he won't kill me."

"No. C'mon we're goin' back to the Pokemon Center." Ben replied.

Jake hung his head. "Fine. Let's go." Jake's entire face covered by his hat.

Though Ben couldn't see it, Johnny saw a wicked grin play across Jake's face.

Jake stood on the balcony with Rascal, rejuvenated and ready to fight. "C'mon partner.

Jump on down there and see if the coast is clear."

Rascal jumped off of the balcony and glanced around at the surroundings. "Ray!" He answered in his gruff Luxray tone of voice. He knew that they were sneaking out and he  
was okay with that.

Jake hooked a chair under the doorknob of the door to his room. He threw his makeshift rope down and rappelled down the wall, while Lucario supported his weight. When Jake let go of the rope, Lucario wound it up and threw it ino the closet.

Lucario jumped off of the balcony and landed in a kneeling position with one paw/hand on the ground.

"Let's go guys." Jake said turning to start running down the street before someone saw him.

"Hey!" Too late. Jake turned to look and saw Johnny stepping out of the alley. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Cherrygrove City, and straight on to the Johto League Championship." And in a lower tone Jake added, "And my revenge."

"Well, I'm going with you." Johnny said coming out of the shadows.

"Not on your life!" Jake almost yelled.

"Fair enough, but I wonder what that John Law friend of yours would think about you sneaking out." Johnny replied.

"I'll strangle you."

"Hmph. I guess there's nothing left I can do but scream for help." Johnny said. He opened his mouth and screamed loudly, "HELMMMPH."

Jake grabbed him and put a hand over his mouth. "You do that again, and I'll feed you to my Luxray." He hissed. "I guess you can come with me, but it's your funeral if you get cornered by Broken Sword."

Johnny's eyes widened. When Jake removed his hand Johnny was bewildered. "I thought you had it covered!"

"I lied, sue me." Jake answered cooly. "The truth is I'm gunnin' for that guy who tried to kill us today." He turned and walked away.

Johnny ran after him. "It doesn't matter. I'm still going with you. As long as I'm here, he'll know just where to find me."

"Fine. Let's get a move on before they... too late!" Jake said looking in the window of his room. He saw the lights turn on which meant they broke the door down. "C'mon!!"

Ben stood on the balcony of Jake's room. "Well?"

Officer Jenny looked at Ben. "We've combed the city. It's likely that they're anywhere here and Cherrygove City?"

Ben gently beat his fist on the balcony rail. "Alright."

"Should I put out an APB for them and revoke their trainer's licenses?" Jenny asked.

"No. He was trained by Jacob Brooks Senior. If he doesn't want to be found, he won't be found." Ben answered. He looked out toward the city. "Take care of yourself, Jake."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Slice and Dice

**Chapter 8 – Slice and Dice! (Vs. Scyther)**

The road was dark along the way to Cherrygrove City. Jake looked down at the clock on his pokedex. "Six-thirty." He muttered to himself as Johnny trailed behind.

"We've been walking forever!" Johnny cried.

"Yeah. Cherrygrove City should be fairly close. We oughta keep walkin' and we'll be there soon." Jake replied. He looked down at Rascal who walked beside him.

There was a growl from somewhere. Jake looked back at Johnny who innocently stared at him. "Are you hungry?" Jake asked him.

"No!" Johnny's attitude became hostile.

Jake glared at Johnny. "You'd better eat boy."

"Don't call me 'boy'!" Johnny growled.

Jake's eyes narrowed. "I will call you 'Johnny B. Goode' if I feel like it!" Jake answered.

"Xander!" Johnny called. The Shinx's fur emitted sparks and then a jolt of electricity  
launched out and hit Jake. "Don't ever call me that again!"

Jake pushed himself up off of the ground. "I didn't mean anything personal by it." He said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a paralyze heal.

As Jake injected himself with it, Johnny moved closer to him. "It happens to be my full name." He growled in an angered tone.

Jake stared after Johnny while he and Xander stormed off into the forest.

"Chief, we've received news about the assassin that was after Jake." Officer Jenny said walking into Ben's office. "Team Rocket's been leasing out their agents to others in an attempt to make up the money they've lost under the leadership of The Mask of Ice."

Ben turned around in his chair to look at Jenny. "What does that mean?"

"It means that someone not from Team Rocket, paid for Broken Sword's services. I also received this photo from a security camera at the Olivine Port." Jenny handed a picture to Ben. In it were two figures, one a tall man and the other a little girl. "Do you know who they are?"

Ben took a deep breath. "Yeah, two messengers of a whole lot of trouble. The man's name is unknown but he goes by the alias "Mars". The little girl, I've never seen before but I can be certain that she's with him."

Jake had been napping since noon. With no sense of time at the moment, Jake wasn't sure of where Johnny was nor did he care—until he heard a cry for help that came from Johnny. Jake sat up quickly and looked around.

The campsite was completely empty except for Jake and Rascal.

Jake and Rascal looked at each other. "C'mon, let's go!" Jake said standing up. He turned and ran in the direction of the screams.

When he got to where the screams had been coming from, he found Johnny's ball cap lying in the middle of a clearing. Jake picked it up and saw green fur like that from a Scyther. Jake knelt and found dirt that had been kicked around. It signaled that there was a struggle and the Scyther carried the boy off. The question was: where to?

"Rascal. Use that super-sensitive nose of yours to track Johnny." Jake told Rascal.

There was a rustling in the bushes "Johnny?"

No such luck, though it was his pokemon. "Shinx" was all the Shinx could say before fainting. Jake picked up Xander and carried him back to camp. He let out Lucario and gave him strict orders. "Guard him with your life." Jake ordered just before running off into the woods after Rascal who had found Johnny's scent and was following it.  
There was another blood-curdling scream and then the sound of a blade slashing through wood. Jake followed the sound to the source. It was just as he thought. A Scyther kidnapped Johnny and was trying to use him for target practice.  
Johnny screamed again as the Scyther nearly took his head off with a slash at his neck. Johnny stumbled back and yelped.

If Jake wanted to help, it was now or never. He couldn't use Rascal's Thunder because there was a chance it could hit the boy. Jake took off his jacket and ran at the Scyther. Now that he thought about it, it really wasn't the most thought out plan, but he was already in the clearing and had the element of surprise. He drew his arm back as he ran. He was close now; the Scyther saw him out of the corner of his eye. He turned swinging his blade around at Jake's torso, but Jake caught Scyther's blade by the wrist. He was close enough now; he threw the punch and caught Scyther in the side of the head. Not much effect, but it accomplished the goal: distract it from Johnny.

Angrily the Scyther swung his other blade and nearly decapitated Jake, but Jake caught that blade at the wrist also; just barely stopped at Jake's throat. Now his arms were crossed, his left holding Scyther's left and his right holding Scyther's right.

He used what little leverage he had to throw Scyther out into the clearing away from Johnny. Johnny was petrified with fear.

Jake was still holding Scyther's scythes as he put his leg behind Scyther's and brought him to the ground. Jake looked back at Johnny who was still petrified. He took one hand away from Scyther's blade and put his foot on it in order to free up his hand. "Johnny get ou—ouch, son of a—"

The Scyther had lifted his head up close enough to Jake's arm to latch on to it with his sharp teeth. Jake looked at Rascal who had been reluctant to attack for fear of hitting Jake. "Rascal, use Thunder!"

The Luxray hesitated.

"DO IT NOW, DAMN IT!!" Jake yelled.

Rascal unleashed a devastating Thunder attack that could have killed a Fearow. It hit Jake and Scyther, knocking them both unconscious in moments.

Jake woke up with a start. The sun had set and it was dark now. Johnny was asleep under the tree that he had been under during the whole ordeal. Rascal was asleep next to Jake and the Scyther was still unconscious. Jake took out a pokeball and threw it at Scyther and caught him without a struggle. He picked up the pokeball and clipped it to Johnny's belt. He picked Johnny up and woke Rascal and began trudging towards the camp. Lucario and Xander were gone. Jake hoped they were okay, wherever they were. He packed the camping gear and followed Rascal who seemed to have their scent. Carrying Johnny in his arms.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – When We First Met (Vs

**Chapter 9 – When We First Met (Vs. Luxray)**

Jake trudged forward. It was midnight now and fatigue was taking its toll.

_I wish there was something I could do for him. _Rascal thought to himself as they walked on. _I shouldn't have attacked._

_There was nothing else you could do. You had to attack._ Another voice told him. He looked over at Jake's waist and saw Kadabra's pokeball. Through the red semi transparent dome Kadabra was looking at him. _If you didn't attack, it would have been a matter of time before Scyther got free, and cut your master to shreds._

_How do you know? _Rascal asked him.

_Because, I'm telepathic; I can see the future._ Kadabra answered. _I can also see that you have a great deal of love for him; love that I could never have had for my master._ _How did you two meet? _

_It was ten years ago. I was a lost pokemon. My previous master abused me and made me feel weak. Jake's father rescued me. He gave me to Jake as a gift._ Rascal explained.

Kadabra was silent for the rest of the trip, though his mind raced with the thoughts of Jake's kindness, and after seeing it first hand, he knew Jake would bravely if not foolishly risk his own life to save another.

They came to a stop in a clearing where there was a cozy fire happily roaring. Jake stopped and took one last step.

"Who's out there?" A female voice called out.

Weakly Jake answered. "It's a half dead cowboy and his Luxray. I've got a boy here that needs tendin' to."

The girl stood up and Rascal could see it was Rose. "Oh my goodness! Jake, what are you doing traveling at this hour?" She asked apprehensively.

"See to the boy, please." Jake said as she took Johnny from his arms. "I just need a quick nap and I'll be okay." He added as he slowly stepped over to the fire.

Rose laid Johnny down and looked him over. "He's fine, just exhausted."

"That's good to know…" Jake breathed before falling on his face. The light from the fire revealed a gash on his right side that none of the pokemon had seen before.

"Jake!" Rose ran to Jake's side. "What have you been doing?"

"Toying with death…" Jake sighed before falling unconscious.

Rose looked at Rascal who stared back pleadingly.

"He'll be just fine." She said to him as if he could answer. "I promise he will."

Rascal went to her and licked Jake's cheek. He just had to be okay. He curled up by Jake's side and went to sleep, while Rose got the first aid kit. Rascal began to dream about the day when he and Jake first met

Rascal ran down the street cautiously looking up each alley for something. He had to find it fast before his master and his pokemon found out. He reached the alley where he had dropped the stolen item. Too late. Mr. Ryder and his Garchomp were already on the scene.

Garchomp spotted Rascal before Ryder did. _"You're in deep trouble child."_ Garchomp growled at him. Ryder heard the growl and whirled around.

"Where is my item?" He yelled.

_"I swear, I dropped it right here!"_ Rascal replied fearfully. _"The man was a police officer, I'll bet you he searched the entire place for it!"_

"If I don't get it soon, your life won't be worth the dirt I feed you!" Ryder screeched.

Suddenly there was a man at the end of the alley. He wore a brown cowboy hat, and had a badge clipped to his belt that read "Olivine Police."

"The ability to speak to pokemon. A gift, and a curse." He said with a grin.

"Yes, but It's a gift for me. Pokemon can do my bidding!" He looked at Garchomp. "Attack!"

"I don't think so. Machoke NOW!!" The officer yelled as a Machoke appeared from nowhere and punched the Garchomp across the side of the head. The Garchomp staggered back and grunted. He looked around and then fell forward.

Ryder returned the Garchomp to his pokeball. "It certainly hasn't ended today." Ryder disappeared into the darkness, and that was the last time Rascal would see him for ten years.

The officer knelt in front of the Shinx and pulled out an empty pokeball. "I think you'd be safer with me." He touched the button to Rascal's forehead, sucking him into the pokeball. Rascal didn't struggle, because he knew that the man was probably right. When he was released from the ball again, they were at the docks. He shivered as the cold nipped his bare nose. He was in the arms of a young boy. At first Rascal was frightened but then he saw the obvious joy in the boy's face to have a friend.

It made Rascal feel like he had a purpose, more of a purpose than Ryder had told him he was good for.

"Rascal an' me are gonna be champions Daddy, and nothing's gonna stand in our way." The boy said before letting Rascal down.

Rascal woke up groggily and looked around. Rose was still awake by the fire. She checked on Jake periodically, who was laying by the fire in a cold sweat.

_"I'm so sorry. The Thunder attack, plus being slashed by that Scyther, couldn't have been good for you at all." _Rascal growled.

_"Why are you apologizing? You know he can't hear you, and even then he can't understand you." _A voice echoed in his mind.

_"It makes me feel better." _Rascal replied.

_"Why do you love this human so? From what I saw in your dream, it was the boy's father who saved your life that day." _Kadabra said, still in his pokeball.

_"Jake's saved my life on more than one occasion. He cares, about me, and all of the others, and you too."_ Rascal stood up and walked over to Jake and lay down next to him. _"Don't even think about dying on me, Jake." _

Kadabra was silent for the rest of the night. He thought about Jake and Rascal. They'd been together ten years and had a strong bond. They were more than trainer and pokemon; they were family.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – A Chance Meeting (Vs

**Chapter 10 – A Chance Meeting (Vs. Lucario)**

Lucario had had no doubt that Jake was coming back to get them, but when the Garchomp lunged out of the bushes at him, there was only one thing left to do; get the hell out of there and keep Xander safe.

Xander now lay next to him in a dark cave, still unconscious while they waited for sunrise. Lucario nodded off to sleep for a fraction of a second when he heard a voice.

"Hello there."

Lucario lurched awake and glanced around.

"Don't be afraid. I haven't come to harm you. I only want to know why you've chosen my home to hide in, and why you're hiding here." The voice said.

_"I was running from a Garchomp that was trying to kill my trainer. He wasn't around so it came after me instead." _Lucario didn't expect the owner of the mysterious voice to know what he'd just said, but he explained anyway.

"I see, and does this Garchomp have a reason for wanting your trainer dead?" The voice said.

_"You understood me!"_ Lucario was shocked.

"Of course. I'm a pokemon myself; but you and I both know that a Lucario can mimic human speech, so let's speak in human speech." The voice said amusedly. "Why does this Garchomp want you and your trainer dead?"

Lucario sat for a minute. He rarely ever spoke in human speech. He had never had a need to, nor did he want to, but he could do it just this once for this stranger. "The Garchomp's trainer is an assassin that wants my trainer dead."

"I see, and this assassin works for who?" The voice seemed almost sarcastic.

"Team Rocket." Lucario answered abruptly.

"Hmmm." The pokemon finally stepped out into the open for Lucario to see. "I hate Team Rocket." He was of a species of pokemon that Lucario had never seen before. He stood at six feet tall, and had red eyes, no mouth, long red blades for claws, and had a scar across his left eye. "You may call me Shade."

"I'm just Lucario," Lucario said standing, "and this is Xander."

"Welcome to my humble home. Your young friend seems bushed." The pokemon said.

"Yes, he was attacked by a Scyther not long ago. I don't know what I can do for him." Lucario replied.

"Maybe I can do something for him." Shade answered stepping over to Xander.

The Shinx was covered in small cuts and knicks. The Scyther was mostly after the Johnny, so Xander wasn't hovering on death's doorstep but he was close.

Shade knelt next to him and held his hand over Xander's forehead. There was a bright light and then slowly Xander's eyes began to open.

"A healing technique." Lucario said quietly.

"Over the years I discovered that I had the ability to heal myself and others." Shade replied.

"That's a lucky thing for him." Lucario said gesturing to Xander who had drifted off to sleep.

Jake looked toward the sun set for the second night since he woke up from his unconsciousness. Rose took Johnny to Cherrygrove City while Jake remained behind to wait for Lucario and Xander.

He couldn't figure out why they would just wander off. There was a massive footprint in the center of camp. It was quite possible that they were chased out of camp.

After nearly ten minutes, Jake slipped quietly to sleep.

Jake and Rascal walked into town quickly and quietly. They had just had a run in with Team Aqua, and were hoping that there weren't more to come. Jake was ten, and Rascal was a young Luxio at the time, but he didn't lack any of the savvy that Jake knew and loved about him.

"That Azumarill nearly killed us." Jake said to Rascal as they made their way to the Pokemon Center. His left shoulder was dislocated in the incident, and was now in a sling that Jake had made with his bandanna.

They stepped into the Pokemon Center and saw three of Team Aqua's grunts standing ad the counter.

Ignoring them, Jake placed five pokeballs on the counter. "Can you heal these five for me?" He asked. "Also can you do anything about my shoulder?"

His mother peered over the counter. "Jake, what have you been doing?" She cried. She came around and made a commotion, about a dislocated shoulder, which Jake thought was a little thing. "Oh, just you wait 'til your father gets home! You are…" Jake tuned her out until the end of her rant. "…do you understand me?"

Jake sighed. "Mom, I've been gone for two weeks! Look, I even have my first gym badge!"

His mom gasped. "Jake I'm sorry. I forgot that it must be tough out there on your own. Come on let's get you looked at."

Twenty minutes later he came back out and looked around. His mother had told him that because he dislocated his shoulder, it would be easier to dislocate it the next time he got into trouble. "Guess that means we gotta be careful." Jake said to Rascal as they left.

Rascal shot him a look as if to say, "Speak for yourself."

"What?" Jake asked innocently.

Jake looked around suddenly. He felt as though they were being watched. In the forest it was creepy, but in the city it was even creepier, because you had no idea who it could be.

"Rascal." Jake said quietly.

Rascal growled in reply.

Then they saw _him _standing in the middle of the intersection. Cars passed him as if he wasn't even there. People walked by him but didn't say a thing. Jake could tell this was a pokemon, but what kind of pokemon was it? It stood as tall as a basketball player, his eyes glowing as red as blood. There was no mouth to emphasize a smile, but Jake could tell that the pokemon was smiling to him self. The pokemon had pointed ears somewhat like a cat, and long red blades that served as claws. His tail was long and thin, and swished every couple of seconds.

Suddenly, he was gone, as quickly as he had appeared.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – Gym Membership

**Chapter 11 – Gym Membership**

Lucario stepped into the moonlight. "We'd better get a move on, before Garchomp discovers that you tricked him."

"I heartily agree. Not that I couldn't take him, but I don't think I'd like that." Shade replied.

Xander quietly looked on as the two other pokemon conversed.

They headed quietly into the night, hoping to find Jake at the last place they found him.

Jake sat up quickly. "Damn…fell asleep again." He quietly grumbled, while recalling the dream he had just had. "Why do I keep seeing him?" He asked himself.  
The dream about the black pokemon was bothering him. Jake knew who the pokemon was, because it had saved his life two years after the events in his dream took place. The question Jake wanted answered was what was it?

"Not even I know." The pokemon said to him when he asked four years ago.

How could he not know what he was? If he did know, it would answer a great many questions for Jake.

Jake didn't intend to dwell on any of those questions here and now though, because the most important thing was to find Lucario and Xander. He could worry about the origin of that mysterious creature later.

He pulled out his pokegear and listened to the radio. The sound of DJ Mary's sweet voice always put him back to sleep when he was younger. Rascal lay by his side next to the rock.

After a couple of minutes DJ Mary's voice was interrupted by a breaking news bulletin. "We're broadcasting live from Mahogany Town where just moments ago, the pokemon trainer that was slated to succeed the missing Pryce as Gym Leader has decided to step down. He didn't give a statement as to why he was stepping down, except that he was compelled to not accept his new role of Mahogany Gym Leader."

If Jake hadn't been lying down, he would have fallen on his face. "What??"

"Furthermore, Prof. Oak has also been reported missing by his granddaughter, and fellow researcher, Daisy Oak." The reporter added.

Jake switched off the radio and got on the phone. After several rings, Ben answered his home phone. "Jake!" He yelled looking at the caller id.

"Yes sir. Have you been watching the news?" Jake said, cutting straight to the chase as usual.

"Yes, I just heard about the Gym Leader, and Prof. Oak. Oak was kidnapped the day after you left." Ben said.

"Is that gonna put a damper on your plan to catch the pokemon thieves?" Jake asked.

"Jake this goes way beyond pokemon thieves. Three days ago, Interpol sent me a fax with the info of two people seen entering Olivine Port the day after you left. I think they may be two of eight trainers, who call themselves _The Titans. _I'm uploading a picture of one of them now." The picture appeared on the screen. He resembled that of a weightlifter. "His name is Mars, named for the god of war on Mt. Olympus. If you run into him, you're in deep trouble. As for the disappearance of Oak, and the stepping down of the Mahogany Gym Leader, It will cause the Pokemon League to cancel the Johto Conference. I've got another idea though. Call me back tomorrow at nine A.M. sharp!" With that Ben hung up.

Jake lay back down, his heart was racing. If they cancelled the Johto Conference, it would mean he came for nothing. The Titans didn't come as much of a surprise.

Jake woke up the next morning at 8:45 and picked up his pokegear.

Ben answered the phone grumpily. "I said nine sharp!"

"I don't have time for this Ben. I've gotta find my Lucario." Jake said just as grumpily.

"Okay, so here it is. Prof. Elm has agreed to take Prof Oak's place as a judge in the Pokemon League, but trainers can't win a gym badge from a gym that doesn't have a Gym Leader. That's where you come in; you're going to take the Gym Leader aptitude test. I know that you would mop the floor with anyone who would take that test." Ben explained.

"But we just got finished registering me for the Johto League." Jake replied.

"Exactly. You have to be registered in order to be a Gym Leader." Ben answered. "Well?"

Jake looked around. "I'll do it. When is the test?"

"Three days. I wouldn't have even asked you if I didn't think you and Rapidash could make it from there to Mahogany in three days." Ben said.

"Piece of cake." Jake replied with a grin. "But I will have to find Lucario and Xander before I do anything else."

"Understood. Your mission is to pass that aptitude test, and become the Gym Leader of Mahogany Town." Ben answered.

"Got it. I'll be there in three days." Jake answered.

Jake hung up and set out to search for Lucario and Xander.

Lucario, Shade and Xander had been walking since midnight. Now the sun was rising, and it was obvious that they were being followed. Lucario glanced back at Shade who had been behind Xander. The only problem with that was the fact that Shade wasn't back there anymore.

"Lucario?" A voice asked quickly. "I've been looking everywhere for you." Jake stepped out into the trail and smiled. "C'mon, we gotta go!"

Lucario was overjoyed at seeing Jake again. He ran up to Jake and hugged him for the first time since he was a Riolu.

Jake threw up a pokeball, which contained his Rapidash, and then returned Lucario and Xander to their pokeballs, and climbed onto Rapidash's back. Rascal walked up beside Rapidash and looked up at Jake as if to say, "Let's go!"

Jake grinned and together they rode away into the afternoon sun.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Day 1: Cherrygrove and Beyond

**Chapter 12 – Day 1: Cherrygrove and Beyond!**

10:49 P.M.  
Cherrygrove City

Jake rode into the city on Rapidash's back with Rascal running beside him. They had traveled non-stop since he had found Xander, and Jake was rather anxious to return Xander to Johnny and then move on to Violet City.

They came to the Pokemon center and Jake climbed down off of Rapidash's back. "Take a rest partner." Jake said as he returned Rapidash.

As he stepped into the Pokemon Center there was a person at the counter crying.

"Excuse me, ma'am? What's wrong?" Jake asked her.

She sniffled and looked at him through teary eyes. "Someone stole my little Pichu!"

"Did you see him?" Jake asked calmly.

"Y-yes. He had jet black hair, a-and black eyes, and h-he wore a Team Rocket uniform!" She wailed. "He said he needed an electric pokemon to power some kind of machine!"

Jake knew exactly whom she had just described. "Did he have any pokemon with him?"

"Yes. He had an Umbreon and a Golem." She said.

"Billy Marshall." Jake growled.

"Jake?" A voice said from behind.

Jake whirled around to see Rose and Johnny standing behind him. "Johnny!" Jake cried. "Looky here!" He pulled out Xander's pokeball and handed it to Johnny.

Johnny released him from his pokeball and hugged him. "I missed you!"

While Johnny and Xander were being reunited, Jake walked over to Rose. "Rose I've got to bow out of the Johto League. I'm going to Mahogany town to take the Gym Leader aptitude test."

Rose paused for a second. "That's wonderful! You're going to be a Gym Leader."

"There's no guarantee that I'll pass." Jake replied solemnly.

"I believe in you." Rose whispered.

Jake remembered the girl behind him and then looked at Rose. "Well, if I'm goin' to be a Gym Leader, I'd better act like one."

Rose smiled, "Go get 'em tiger."

Jake turned and faced the weeping girl. "I'll return with your Pichu."

He turned and walked out with Rascal close behind.

Outskirts of town

Billy laughed loudly as they forced the helpless Pichu into a cage that would drain his power, and store it to be used in the amplifier. "It's a thing of beauty isn't it, Bonnie?" He said with a cold grin.  
"I can't wait to try it." She said with an equally cold grin. "There's a handsome young man that I'd love to try it on."

"All in due time, dear girl. In another day or so your play thing will arrive and I'll let you do what ever you want to him." Billy said. "Watching him suffer will be enough for me."

"Watching who suffer?" A familiar voice yelled across the clearing.

"What?" Billy growled turning back to see whom it was.

"It's him! My boy toy!" Bonnie yelled gleefully.

"He's all yours." Billy said with a mix of scorn and amusement on his face.

Bonnie pulled out three pokeballs and tossed them out. "Gliscor! Ditto! Victreebell! Skarmory! GO!"

The four pokemon attacked. Jake coolly smiled. "Rascal use Thunder!"

The Thunder attack went straight into the sky and came back down hitting a rod on the amplifier.

"Ha! Your electric attacks don't work here, cutie." Bonnie laughed. The amplifier will absorb all of your attacks, and then I'll have enough energy to have my fun!"

As soon as she finished, her Skarmory used Steel Wing, hitting Jake across the side of the head. "Damn…" Jake cursed under his breath as he slammed into the trunk of a nearby oak tree.

"You shouldn't try to resist; it will only make her want you more." Billy said with a cool grin from the tree line.

"Ditto, transform into Golem!" Bonnie cried. "Ditto, use Rock Throw!"

"Slice, use Iron Claw!!" Johnny's voice called from the trees. A Scyther shot out of the trees in a blur of speed and slashed through Ditto.

Ditto went down instantly with a loud cry.

"That's not fair!!" Bonnie screeched.

"Yet you attacked Jake when Rascal was occupied by three other pokemon. There was no fairness there." Johnny shouted back.

"Hmph! I'll show you! Gliscor use Air Cutter on Scyther!" Bonnie ordered.

Just as Gliscor prepared to attack, she was hit by a burst of flames from Jake's direction.

Bonnie turned and saw that Jake's Rapidash had assaulted her Gliscor and taken out her Skarmory and Victreebell as well. "NO!" She cried seeing that all of her pokemon were defeated. She looked back to Billy for help but he was nowhere to be seen. "Damn coward…" She growled clenching her fists. "Fine you beat me!" She said walking over to Jake.

Before anyone could react, she swung her left foot around and roundhouse kicked Jake in the head. Bonnie bent over him and grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him in close. "But I'm not going anywhere without one of these." Their lips met and Bonnie wrapped her arms around him. Soon she released him and pulled back. "If you fought as good as you kissed, you'd be more than deadly." She said with a mischievous grin.

Jake was at a loss for words, while Johnny appeared to be disgusted. "EWWWW COOTIES!!" He screeched.

Bonnie smiled wickedly at Johnny. "You'll learn when you're older, boy." She pulled out a smoke bomb and smashed it on the ground. When the smoke cleared, she and her pokemon were gone.

"That girl is insane!" Johnny cried.

Back at the Pokemon Center.

Jake and Johnny walked in with all of the stolen electric pokemon's pokeballs. "We have returned victorious!" Johnny shouted.

"And all thanks to Johnny!!" Jake added.

The girl who lost her Pichu happily ran to him and hugged him. "You're my hero!" She cried.

"Well, it was nothin', really." Jake replied.

Jake gave her the Pichu and she kissed him on the cheek.

The next day, Jake climbed onto Rapidash's back and said his good byes to everyone and rode out of Cherrygrove City.

When he got into the woods a Scyther stepped out into the road with Johnny close behind. "So, you're trying to ditch me again aren't you…" Johnny said sadly.

"I didn't think you wanted to come with me." Jake replied.  
"Well I do. I promise I won't be any trouble and I don't even have to ride with you. While you were gone, Slice and I figured out a way to travel. I can hold on to his feet while he flies." Johnny pleaded.  
Jake sat for a minute. "Johnny, my dad told me that a man (or in your case a kid) has to go wherever his heart takes him. If you wanna go with me, then you can. I'm not gonna stop you, but I'm not goin' to all the Gyms anymore. You won't be able to get all of the badges if you go with me."

"I know, Rose told me when I left, and I say there's always next year." Johnny said.

Jake hopped off of Rapidash and walked over to Johnny. Jake took Johnny's cap off, and ruffled his hair. "Good to have ya back, Shorty." Jake said with a grin. Jake hopped back onto Rapidash and Johnny grabbed Slice's foot, and together they traveled onward to Violet City.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Day 2: Violet City Violence

**Chapter 13 – Day 2: Violet City Violence!**

Jake and Johnny got to Violet City in no time, with Rapidash and Scyther's speed being what they were. It was three P.M. and the town was deathly quiet.

Soon a person peeked out of his home and looked at Jake and Johnny. "Are you out of your minds?? Quick, get in here before they see you!" He hissed.

Jake and Johnny returned their pokemon and went into the man's house. "Before who sees us?" Jake asked.

The man shut the door and looked out of the window. "Them!" He said.

Jake stood up and went over to the window. There was a man sitting in the window of the police station across the street. He wore a silver mask, which covered most of his face. The only part that wasn't covered was his mouth. Standing on one side of him was an Umbreon, and on the other side, an Espeon.

"He calls himself Phantom. He came in about three days ago and killed the chief of police, and then declared himself the chief. He's strong enough that the police didn't question it." The man explained.

"Humph, Just a borrowed name." Jake scoffed recalling a book he had read last year. "He doesn't have the courage to show his true identity. Why doesn't the Gym Leader do anything?"

The man looked at Jake gravely. "Phantom had him arrested. Falkner was in no position to resist because they outnumbered him."

"I see. Can I bust him out?" Jake said, already laying out his plan.

"You're not thinkin' of challenging Phantom are you?" The man asked worriedly.

"That's exactly what he's thinkin' of doin'." Johnny said with a grin.

"Right. Mister, you're lookin' at the soon to be Gym Leader of Mahogany Town." Jake said, while pulling a bandana out of his pocket. He looked at Johnny. "I'll need a distraction."

"You've got it." Johnny replied. "They'll never catch Slice."

"Mister, you'd better hide and watch." Jake said to the man. "Johnny, send Slice out the back door, and you stay in here. Have him return here when he's finished." Jake wrapped the bandana around his face, and took off his hat.

Johnny nodded.

Jake stepped outside and looked around. Phantom was gone from the window. Jake ran to the Police Station and entered. There was one officer and he was sleeping with his feet propped up.

Jake "borrowed" the officer's keys and went over to the jail cell where a young man, with black hair, and dark eyes seemed to be its only occupant. "Leader Falkner, I presume?" Jake said grinning under his bandana.

"And you are?" Falkner asked.

"For now, just Kid will do." Jake replied, while trying keys in the keyhole.

Falkner stood up and went over to the cell door. "Is that your name…Kid?"

"Well, Mauville Kid is too long to say now isn't it?" Jake chuckled. "Besides, I haven't been called that for years."

Falkner grinned. "The famous Mauville Kid, all the way from Hoenn?"

"The one and only." Jake had finally found the key. "Got it, let's get out of here!"

"Not so fast!"

Jake looked over his shoulder to see the officer wasn't sleeping anymore. "Rascal!" He cried.

Rascal used Thunder Wave on the unsuspecting officer.

"Let's go!!" Jake yelled. They all ran out into the street where they saw the Phantom waiting for them.

"A valiant effort on your part, young man, but I do not think it will be enough." He grunted.

Jake scoffed. "We finally meet. The man they call Phantom."

"And the child they call Mauville." Phantom retorted.

"This fight is between you and I, Phantom." Falkner stepped in. "You're under arrest."

"Maybe, but I have a better idea. Why don't you both take a dirt nap?" He yelled maniacally. "Espeon, Psychic! Umbreon, Shadow Ball!"

The pokemon's attacks hit Rascal and threw him back into Jake. Together, Jake and Rascal, both slammed into a nearby wall.

Jake staggered to his feet, and angrily growled, "Rascal, use Thunder!"

Rascal responded with a powerful Thunder attack that hit Espeon and Umbreon at the same time.

Falkner pulled out a pokeball and threw it at Phantom missing him completely.

"Your aim could use some work!" Phantom said arrogantly.

"I wasn't aiming at the front of you."

Phantom turned around to see the pokeball coming back at him. "What trickery is this?" He shouted.

"It's no trickery. My Skarmory sheds feathers every so often, and they harden into iron hard feathers that can be used as weapons. I took it one step further with my invention: the pokeball boomerang." Falkner explained.

The boomerang hit the ground at Phantom's feet and released Falkner's Skarmory. "Skarmory! Steel Wing!" Falkner cried, as the bird pokemon let out a horrible metallic screech.

Skarmory's wings turned to steel as he launched his attack. The wings caught Phantom around his mid torso, and sent him to the ground.

"I thought cops used Growlithe." Jake said eyeing the metallic bird with a grin.

"My father was a brilliant bird master, and I guess it sort of rubbed off on me." Falkner replied returning him to his pokeball.

Jake grabbed Phantom by the collar of his coat. "Let's take 'em and get some answers from 'em."

"My boss will get you for this. He'll make you both pay for your insolence!" Phantom howled in pain.

"Oh I'm quakin' in my boots." Jake mocked.

"Would you mind telling us who your boss is?" Falkner asked.

Phantom looked at Falkner, and then Jake. "Go to hell!"

"That's not very nice!" Jake said kicking Phantom in the ribs.

Falkner grabbed Jake's arm. "Kid, you won't get any answers from him that way."

"I wouldn't have talked anyway!!" Phantom yelled.

"Let 'em go!"

Jake looked back to see that they were surrounded by police officers. Scyther was caught in a net, and Johnny was handcuffed in the back of a police car.

"What's the matter with you?" Falkner demanded.

"We're with him now." One officer stepped forward.

Jake felt a pulse at the back of his head, like a headache, but it seemed to be getting much worse. "That… sound." Jake took a faltering step forward. "Do you hear that??" He looked at Falkner who looked back like Jake was insane.

"What are you talking about?" Falkner was confused.

Suddenly Jake grabbed Phantom and put him into a headlock as if he were a human shield. "I'll feed 'em to my Luxray if you don't let the boy go!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Phantom yelled.

"I don't know, he looks crazy enough to do it." Falkner was becoming worried about Jake's current state.

"Let the boy go!" Jake repeated. Suddenly it clicked. It all made sense. During his training, he had spent most of his time around psychic type pokemon, which made him more attuned to their abilities. The psychic brain waves also had adverse effects on him, like bouts of rage, and violent tendencies.

Jake kneed Phantom in the back of the leg and brought him to the ground. Then he reached down and ripped Phantom's mask off, to reveal a young man who looked to be in his late twenties. Just before examining the mask, Jake punched him in the face.

The mask had a small silicon wafer on the inside, like a computer chip. "Just like I thought." Jake said triumphantly. He threw the mask on the ground and stepped on it, destroying the transmission it was emitting. "It occurred to me when I was close to Phantom just now. I recalled my training with my previous master. A year or so ago, she took me to the Copper Tower in Ecruteak City. Somehow the copper in the building amplified her pokemon's brain waves, and nearly drove me mad. Your officers are all wearing copper badges on their chests and hats. That's why he was able to control them." Jake explained.

"That's amazing." Falkner said

"The chip in his mask was turning his brain waves into that of a pokemon's." Jake added. "And now that that's finished..." Jake fell flat on his back and began to sleep.

Four hours later, Jake was awake and ready to go; Rapidash was waiting outside, and Johnny had just returned from the Gym with Falkner.

"Hey Jake! I told Falkner about what you're doing and he gave me this!" Johnny pulled a small CD case with a DVD inside that had "Gym Leader Aptitude Test" written on it in Sharpie.

"It's the least I can do, after you did what you could for Violet City." Falkner said with a smile.

Jake extended his hand, and Falkner shook it. "I won't forget this."

"It's I who should be doing the remembering. If there's anything I can do for you, just let me know." Falkner answered.

"As a matter of fact there is. You're a police officer so maybe you can help. I've been on the hunt for the man who's killed my father. He's an assassin who goes by the alias "Broken Sword". If you see him, could you contact the chief of police in Olivine city?" Jake said.

"I've heard the name. I'll do what I can, Jake. Good-bye young friend." Falkner said.

"So long, partner." Jake replied. He turned and climbed onto Rapidash's back. Johnny let Slice out of his ball, and grabbed his foot.

"Bye bye!!" Johnny cried as he and Jake disappeared into the sunset.

"May you fare well in your journeys." Falkner looked at Skarmory. "Doesn't he kind of remind you of Gold?"

Skarmory nodded.

"Let's go."

Together, they entered the Gym and rested up for a long day tomorrow.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – Day 3: Ecruteak City, The Final Stretch

**Chapter 14 – Day 3: Ecruteak City, The Final Stretch! (Vs. Gengar)**

Ecruteak City

Rapidash stopped in front of the Pokemon Center and Jake climbed off.

"Wow! I've never been here before!" Johnny exclaimed. "It's awesome!"

"Yup. This is Ecruteak City, and the last city between here and Mahogany town. If we don't make Mahogany by tonight, I can kiss that Gym Leader position good-bye." Jake said. He had hoped to have been here sooner, but It couldn't have been helped. "C'mon Johnny. We'd better go heal our pokemon and then hit the road."

"Okay." Johnny answered. He turned to Slice, "Come on. Let's get you healed."

Jake returned Rapidash, and Johnny returned Slice.

As they walked inside, Jake heard a radio on the counter. "Ladies and gentlemen, we bring you a breaking news update."

"Mary, I'm broad casting live from Route 42, where a massive sinkhole has devoured the entire road. Eyewitnesses say that a pair of shady characters were seen fleeing the seen of the incident. It is widely believed among regional and local officials that the sinkhole was caused by the fleeing duo. Back to you Mary."

Mary came back on the radio, and began playing music, but Jake was too devastated to listen.

"Jake? You okay buddy?" Johnny asked worriedly.

"Johnny, can Slice fly us over the sinkhole?" Jake asked.

"Depends on how big it is. He could fly me all the way to Mahogany. You… I'm not sure if he could even get you over the sinkhole. I'm a tiny ten year-old. You're a teenager." Johnny explained. "Why can't Rapidash jump over the hole?"

"I dunno how far he can jump." Jake answered. He turned and walked outside followed by Rascal, and Johnny. "We're screwed!"

"Can't we call your cop friend for a helicopter?" Johnny asked.

"To jump a sinkhole? He'd laugh me off of the pokegear!" Jake looked around dejectedly, and then had a thought. "Hey wait a minute! They said that there were two people fleeing the scene of the accident. What if they caused the sinkhole?"

Johnny looked up at Jake. "You mean like maybe, Billy and Bonnie?"

"That's exactly who I mean." Jake growled. "Let's go have a look."

When they made it to the route, they saw the sinkhole. It was nearly as big as a Gym, and twice as deep. Jake sighed. "Damn…" He glanced over, and saw a girl looking down into the sinkhole. "Lookin' for somethin?" He asked.

"I was here when the sinkhole appeared. There was a Diglett in the center of it." She replied. "I hope he's okay."

"Ah, knowing Digletts, he probably started the damn sinkhole." Jake said.

Johnny looked around. "But why would he just use Earthquake right here? There was no cause for it."

"You think maybe he caused it?" Jake said staring at a pokemon on the other side of the sinkhole. It stared back intently.

"What the hell?" Johnny yelled. Jake popped him in the back of the head.

While they were distracted, a man wearing a head-band appeared next to him.

"Hey, that guy looks familiar." Jake said.

"He's the Gym Leader here. Trying to figure out what's happened here, no doubt." The girl explained.

"How's he gonna do that? If the cops can't, then what's he gonna do?" Johnny asked.

"They say he has eyes for a thousand miles. He can see anything." She answered.

"My father told me about him. He searched Johto looking for the rainbow bird, but didn't find it. Later it showed up right where he didn't expect it to: the Pokemon League Conference. Dad had a lotta respect for him." Jake said now kneeling, and looking at the dirt around the sinkhole. "There's a lot of water around here, so we know a water-type was involved. The sinkhole was created by a ground-type. The Diglett might have done it, but my money's on Billy's Golem."

"Did you say Golem?" The girl looked stunned.

"Yeah, why?" Jake replied.

"I saw a Golem fleeing the scene just after the sinkhole was created." She replied.

"You're gonna be my ticket to finding out who did this then. I'm Jake Brooks." Jake said.

"Elektra Powers." She replied.

"Did you see a crazy blonde chick, and a black haired guy running away with the Golem?" Johnny jumped to his feet, and grabbed the girl's hand.

"Ummm no… I didn't get a good look at the Golem's trainer. Just the pokemon." Elektra answered.

"That may be all we need. Lucario left a scar on his left cheek back in Olivine City. Did you see anything like that on this Golem?" Jake asked.

"Yes. Right below his left eye."

"Perfect." He looked over at the Gym Leader. He was concentrating. "Now all we need is that guy's help."

Suddenly the Gym Leader disappeared. Jake looked over and saw him standing next to Johnny and Elektra. Jake paid the fact that he teleported over to their side no mind. "Hey, we need your help."

"Morty will you help us?" Elektra asked politely.

"I assume you are searching for the cause of this sinkhole." Morty looked at Jake.

Jake stared out at the sinkhole. "That damn thing's killed my chances of being a Gym Leader. I wanna rip Billy's liver out for it." Jake handed Morty a pin that resembled a gym badge but had the letter "R" on it. "I lifted that off of Bonnie while we battled in Cherrygrove City."

"And you think this Bonnie is the culprit?"

"You're damn right I do." Jake answered.

"Fine." Morty took the pin, and held one hand to his forehead. After several minutes, Morty opened his eyes. "I saw the Burned Tower! They're going there now. If we hurry, we might catch them."

"Let's go!" Jake called, already running down the road.

Burned Tower

Jake entered with Morty, and Johnny behind him.

"Careful. This place has holes in the floor." He whistled and motioned his finger at the floor, to simulate a long fall. "One wrong step, and you'll go right to the basement."

"Hmmm…" Jake looked down into a hole that seemed to go on forever. "That doesn't sound pleasant." He looked at Rascal. "See if you can see 'em."

Rascal used his x-ray vision to look through the walls. He concentrated on one spot, and said "Ray!"

Jake looked at the spot and pointed. "Right there?"

Rascal nodded.

"Alright." He pulled out Lucario's pokeball. "Lucario, break it down."

Lucario smashed through the wall and saw Billy and Bonnie.

"You!" Billy shouted.

"That's right! You're all under arrest!" Jake yelled.

"Think again!" Bonnie called back as her Skarmory caught Jake off guard with a Steel Wing attack.

Morty's Gengar took action by using Sucker Punch on the Skarmory just before it attacked him. "Sucker Punch allows my Gengar to attack in the few moments before an enemy attack. Your Skarmory attacked my Gengar and paid for it." Morty explained. "Now Gengar, Hypnosis!"

Skarmory fell to the ground in a deep slumber.

"NO!!" Bonnie cried as Rascal used Thunder on Billy's Umbreon.

"Ha! It doesn't matter now anyway. The cowboy can't get to Mahogany to become Gym Leader now. HAHAHAHAHA!!" Billy ran over to Bonnie and threw a smoke bomb on the ground.

When the smoke cleared they were gone.

"Damn it!!" Jake shouted, punching a nearby wall. "That's getting old."

Morty looked at Jake. "You only needed to get to Mahogany? I think I can help. Elektra's father is Ross Powers. He oversaw the rebuilding of the League Stadium on Indigo Plateau, after it was attacked by Team Rocket three years ago."

"How can he help?" Johnny asked.

"Private helicopter." Morty replied.

"Sweet!" Johnny exclaimed.

Powers Estate

"Of course I'd be willing to help." Ross Powers said to Morty with a smile.

"Thank you. You're all set to go boys." Morty said.

"What about Billy and Bonnie?" Jake asked looking up at Morty.

"I have a feeling that you'll meet them again in your travels." Morty replied with a grin.

Orange Islands

"You've failed me again Captain. I've just been informed that those incompetent fools, that you call agents, allowed the boy to make it to Mahogany Town, and register for the Gym Leader Aptitude Test." The old man said from behind his desk. "You are by far, the worst commander I have ever had the displeasure of meeting."

"Sir, we had no idea that Ross Powers would take him in his private chopper." The Captain pleaded.

"Fortunately for you, I've just been in contact with Giovanni. He's taking care of some business in the Sevii Islands and has allowed me your services for free." He said.

"How is that fortunate for us? We loose a profit!" Captain Trent demanded.

"It's fortunate because if I'd been paying for that mission, then you'd pay me back the money I lost with your heads!!" The old man spat, which made Trent wish he could shrink down to the size of a microbe. "You're dismissed." After Trent left, the old man turned to look at Scar, who had been listening to the whole conversation.

"Team Rocket isn't as powerful as it once was." A female voice chided at him.

"Venus, I want you to go to Mahogany and sign up for the aptitude test. If you fail, we'll go to plan B." He replied, while stroking Scar. "I'm going to the Sevii Islands to buy myself some more time with Giovanni."

A beautiful young female stepped out of the shadows. "Why don't I just break his heart like I did the last one?"

"I'm afraid his heart belongs to another. Yet she doesn't love him. If he weren't my enemy, I'd pity the poor boy. No I think you should just make sure he doesn't get the position of Gym Leader." He answered.

"It shall be done Lord Apollo." She left the room in silence.

_In one fatal swoop, I can eliminate that bastard who nearly killed me six years ago, and I can establish an organization that's more powerful than even Team Rocket._


	15. Chapter 15

Ch15

**Ch15. - Everything Or Nothing, The Gym Leader Aptitude Test (Vs. Charizard)**

Jake stepped into the newly built Mahogany Gym. It was everything Ben had said it was. Jake could smell the new paint on the walls. "This couldn't possibly be the Gym that Pryce once resided in." Jake said to himself.

"It's not." Came Ben's voice from across the Gym. "I heard you had some trouble getting here yesterday."

Jake grinned. "Some jerk parked his sinkhole right in the middle of the road. I was flown in here by helicopter while the road department sorts it out."

"I'm glad you made it. A girl beat you in yesterday afternoon; the name she registered by was Victoria Lynn Martin." Ben said.

"You think it's possibly an alias?" Jake asked.

"I don't know. Not everybody's out to get you y'know." Ben looked back at the workers in the gym. "They're still making the preparations so we'll wait until they're done."

"So you're giving the test?" Jake asked.

"Yes. The pokemon league chairman will judge you. He'll be with us shortly." Ben said as they walked. "You've been making a name for yourself on your way up here. I heard from Morty, Falkner, and Cherrygrove's Police Chief that you did good deeds in their towns. If you manage to beat the Martin girl, you'll have friends in high places."

"What do you mean 'manage'?" Jake looked over at Ben.

"Jake, I'm not going to lie to you. The yesterday when she came in, a wild herd of Donphan came through the town. She faced them all down with a Clefairy."

"Clefairy huh?" Jake looked at his pokeballs. "We'll make a higher grade than she could possibly make." He announced to the world.

"That's good, 'cause she's waiting in the back." Ben answered and looked back.

One of the workers looked at Ben. "All done here Chief!"

Ben nodded. "Well let's start." He took out his pokeball just as the Chairman entered the gym.

"Are we ready?" He asked.

"Ready as we'll ever be." Ben answered.

Victoria took her place and Ben took his. "Then let the battle begin!" The Chairman announced.

Ben started off with Dragonite and Victoria started off with Clefairy.

"Clefairy use Finger Wag!" Victoria commanded. Clefairy began to wag her fingers at Dragonite. It seemed similar to Metronome but wasn't as random.

"Trying to put Buster to sleep eh? Buster use Fly!" Ben shouted. Dragonite flapped his powerful wings and lifted into the air. "Now he's out of range of your attack."

"Hmph! Clefairy, use Gravity!" Dragonite began to feel heavy. He flapped his wings harder and harder, but still began to sink to the ground.

"No! Buster!" Ben looked horrified.

"Clefairy, use Metronome!" Clefairy began to wag her fingers. She wagged them in a way that would almost put anyone to sleep. Suddenly she grabbed Dragonite with her tiny, stubby hand, threw him across the room.

Buster hit the wall with a loud crunch. He tried to get up but wasn't able to.

"He's paralyzed! Clefairy, go in for the kill!

Clefairy hit him with a hard Mega Punch, and Dragonite went down.

"You may now award the position to me." Victoria arrogantly announced.

"Victoria is the winner!" The Chairman called. "I give her battle a 9.5."

Ben glanced up quickly. He returned his Dragonite. "I choose Draco!" Ben threw out his next pokeball that released a Charizard.

"And I choose Sammy!" Jake threw out a pokeball. It opened up to reveal a tall red and grey pokemon. There were red rocks that covered his chest, like battle armor, and large stones on his elbows that resembled blades.

"What is that?!" Ben exclaimed.

Jake smirked. "My Sensei took him into Mt. Moon, where he evolved from a Rhyhorn into a Rhydon under… questionable circumstances. Sensei gave him to me after I completed my training with him; years later that Rydon evolved into this. I call him Rhyperior, because he's superior to any other rock-type pokemon I've ever seen."

"Fine! Let's begin!" The Chairman announced.

"Draco, use Brick Break!" Ben called.

"Use Dig, Sammy!" Jake commanded. The massive Rhyperior's horn began to spin, and he dove headfirst into the ground. Draco's Brick Break attack missed him completely.

"Fly up high!" Ben ordered. Just as Draco took off, Sammy came out of the ground and grabbed Draco's feet. "Ha! You fell into my trap Jake! Draco, use Seismic Toss!"

Draco grabbed Sammy and flew up into the air. Jake watched in horror as Draco slammed Sammy into the ground from thirty feet up. "SAMMY!!"

The impact kicked up a cloud of dust that reduced all visibility. From the cloud of dust, four rocks flew out at Charizard, and hit him squarely in the head.

As the dust cleared, Sammy launched himself out off of the ground with his horn spinning faster, and faster. "Oh no! It's Horn Drill! Draco, MOVE!"

It was too late. The horn hit Charizard and slammed him into the ceiling. "Now let's see how you like being thrown to the ground! Sammy, use Seismic Toss!!" Jake shouted. In a split-second, Sammy grabbed Charizard's arm and hurled him to the ground.

Now it was Ben who was watching in horror as his Charizard hit the ground with so much velocity that it created a crater in the floor. Sammy landed close to Charizard and approached the crater.

Without warning, Charizard appeared out of the hole and hit Sammy with a Sky Uppercut attack. Sammy flew back into the wall behind him, and fell to the floor unconscious.

Charizard then took a step forward, and then fell flat on his face. He was defeated as well.

"I declare this match a draw!" The Chairman announced. "I give this battle an even 10!" He added. "Black Brooks, I declare you the Gym Leader of Mahogany Town!"

"I'd prefer Jake, if you don't mind, Mr. Chairman." Jake said.

"Jake, I'll call you the Mauville Kid if you want." The Chairman laughed. Jake found it ironic that a remark like that would come up, since he really was the Mauville Kid, though Jake kept his mouth shut, due to the fact that he'd been trying to keep it a secret ever since he registered for the Hoenn League six years ago.

"Congratulations, Jake." Ben slapped Jake on the back.

Jake glanced around quickly. "Where's that girl that came in before me?"

Ben looked back at the door to see it standing wide open. "Ah, she probably couldn't stand loosing to you." Ben chuckled.

"I don't know… Sensei taught me to be suspicious of everyone." Jake replied.

Victoria stood on the ledge of a nearby rooftop, looking down at the Gym. Suddenly her face began to melt away to reveal the face of Venus. The ooze that melted off of her face was really a Ditto. "Thanks for that trick you taught me, cousin." She said out loud to someone who wasn't there. Venus pulled out her pokegear and dialed a number.

"Report, Venus!" Apollo growled over the communicator.

"Lord Apollo, my mission has failed." Venus stated.

"I see… this is very troubling. Very well, proceed to plan "B"." Apollo replied.

"Yes, Lord Apollo." Venus said. She hung up, and stared down at the building. "I will defeat you, young cowboy. This I promise." Venus turned and disappeared into the nearby forest, as the sun set for another night.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 – Master and Student; a Joyful Reunion

**Chapter 16 – Master and Student; a Joyful Reunion! (Vs. Arbok)**

The role of a Gym Leader is to strive for a better understanding of his or her capabilities, and to improve those capabilities at every possible moment. Along side that role, it is also the role of a Gym Leader to accept challenges from aspiring trainers and confer badges upon trainers who the Gym Leader deems worthy of such an honor.

With his new appointment as Gym Leader, Jake expected challenges from trainers near and far, but he didn't expect his first challenge to be from an old friend.

The day after Jake's appointment found him sleeping in his brand new office, which was situated at the very back of the Gym.

It seemed like a day for gifts; Ben had given him a comfy office chair; Jake gave Rascal the first badge that his father had ever won, in the form of a collar with the badge hanging down like a pendant. Johnny gave Jake his hat, which he immediately asked to have back, after realizing he felt naked without it.

Jake was very tired from the previous day's events and it definitely showed. He was slow when it came to getting out of the chair. Even when Johnny offered to buy lunch that day, Jake seemed indifferent.

He was even too tired to be paranoid about Broken Sword coming after him and Johnny. It would be more of a challenge to avoid him, now that he was tied down to a Gym.

"Jake, how can you be so wiped out? Yesterday was nothing compared to the battles I've seen you fight," Johnny said after gulping down a mouthful of ramen. "You haven't even touched your hamburger,"

"When did you become my dietitian? I'm fine, it just feels like I'm being drained," Jake replied swiftly.

"Hmmm," Was all Johnny could force out through yet another mouthful of ramen. After he swallowed the previous mouthful, his eyes became rather thoughtful. "You think your pushing yourself too hard?"

"Not at all! It has nothing to with pushing myself. I was trained to push myself to the limit," Jake answered. "I just need to remember…"

"Ruhmemfer rutt," Johnny choked over a mouthful of bread roll.

"Huh?" Jake chuckled.

Johnny gulped down the food and repeated himself. "I said, remember what?"

"Oh… I just need to remember my training. It's been a while, and I'm out of practice." Jake stared at his hamburger. "I think I need to go fishin',"

"Wha??" Johnny nearly gagged. "How is that going to make you remember your training?"

"It won't… I just need to relax. South of Mauville City, there's a lake where my dad used to take me fishing. A six-pack of soda and a good fishin' rod was all I needed to relax back then." Jake stood up from his desk and walked to the door of his office.  
"You can have my burger."

Jake came out of his office with a fishing pole and a tackle-box, "If you leave, lock up the gym. If anybody wants to know where I went, tell 'em I went to the Lake of Rage."

Just when Jake made it to the door, the phone in his back office began to ring. "I'll get it!" Johnny yelled across the gym. He came back out two seconds later with the phone in his hand. "It's for you!"

"Tell 'em, I just sailed away," Jake said with a half grin.

"Jake! That's not funny," Johnny called after him, but it was too late. Jake had already gone outside.

Jake threw out Rapidash's pokeball and out came the horse pokemon. "Rapidash, let's go to the Lake," Jake said with a smile. Jake climbed on Rapidash's back and squeezed his heels into Rapidash's sides.

Soon they were galloping off to the north, with the sun happily moving west, and the bird pokemon happily chirruping.

In no time, they were at the lake. Jake called back his Rapidash and laid out his coat to sit on while he fished. Jake sat on his coat, reached into his tackle-box, and grabbed a soda.

"Never go fishing without one," he chuckled to himself as he popped the top and took a sip.

After several hours, not even the mosquitoes were biting. As Jake cast the line out for the nine-hundredth time, a silver blur crossed his field of vision, and cut the line. Jake glanced over in the direction that the blur was moving, and saw a star-shaped piece of metal with a pokeball in the center, buried in halfway into the sand. "A shruken?"  
The pokeball opened and released a purple snake with markings on its flaps that resembled a face.

"An Arbok," Jake grabbed a pokeball, not even looking through the transparent dome to see who it was. "GO," he shouted as he threw it out.

It turned out to be Sammy, Jake's Rhyperior. "Sammy, use Horn Drill!"

Sammy's horn began to spin, and then Sammy charged the Arbok.

Arbok quickly dodged the attack, and then used Constrict. Arbok paused, and then there was laughter. It seemed to coming from everywhere.

"Just like you, Jake. Always brawn before brains," the mystery voice taunted. "I've come to challenge you to a gym battle!" He called.

"I accept your challenge," Jake replied. "Sammy will be my first pick!"

"And Arbok will be mine! Arbok use Poison Sting!" The mystery voice commanded.

"Sammy, you gotta get outta there," Jake cried, "Use Surf!"

The waters from the lake began to churn and waves began to break on the shore. A massive wave rose up out of the lake and rode over the shore, where it crashed down on Arbok and Sammy.

When the water washed back into the lake, Sammy was standing alone. Arbok had released him at the very last minute to save his own skin.

"On your toes, Sammy," Jake looked around for his opponent and its trainer, "We're not outta this yet."

In a flash, the Arbok lurched out of the nearby shrubbery, and used Constrict on Sammy again. He had Sammy bound up now, and was squeezing him as hard as he could.

Jake thought quickly. "Sammy, use Horn Drill! There's no way you can miss now," Jake called to him.

Sammy's horn began to spin once again. He looked Arbok right in the eye, and grinned wickedly. Sammy brought his horn down right onto Arbok's head.  
The Arbok released him and began to slither away, but Sammy grabbed him by the tail, and pulled him back.

"That's enough," the mystery voice called. "You've made your point."

"Sam-Sam, let 'em go," Jake ordered.

As Jake ordered, Sammy released Arbok who slithered into the forest. Soon, a man stepped out of the forest. He wore a black ninja outfit, and his hair was black and spiked. His face looked as though it had seen many battles, and Jake recognized him immediately. "Sensei!"

"Hello Jake. It's been a long time." He said with a smile.

"Master Koga, I had no idea! Can you forgive me?" Jake knelt before Koga.

"Forgive what?? You put up a hell of a fight, and won! That's what I taught you, was it not," Koga answered with a look at Jake.

"Well… yes sir, but Sammy may have injured your Arbok," Jake replied.

"Arbok is fine. He's been through much worse," Koga looked around. "I seem to remember that you had a Luxray during our training. What's happened to him?"

"He goes hunting everyday, at least once a day. He went hunting just before I left," Jake replied looking back at the lake.

"So I hear that you're a Gym Leader now. I came to congratulate you," Koga said, as Jake stood up.

"Yes sir," Jake looked at Sammy. "Sensei, can I confide in you?"

"Yes," Koga was looking down at his apprentice.

"I've found Broken Sword. He works for Team Rocket, just like you suspected," Jake whispered.

"I've been in contact with Sabrina recently, and she says Broken Sword was expelled from Team Rocket for performing outside jobs. If he tried to kill you in New Bark Town, he was doing it for someone other than Team Rocket,"

Jake didn't bother with the fact that Koga new about New Bark Town. He was quite used to him knowing things that nobody else would. Jake was more preoccupied with the fact that Koga had talked to Sabrina. "You've spoken to Sabrina," he gasped. "How was she?"

Koga grinned. "I told you, she's way out of your league, boy."

"I know… I can't help it though," Jake sighed.

"I understand. She's had that effect on many men," Koga said looking out into the setting sun.

Jake looked thoughtful for a moment, but then it passed. He glanced up at Koga. "You wanna come back to the gym for dinner? I'm pretty sure there's a cold hamburger sittin' on my desk."

"Sure, why not," Koga replied.

They walked back down the route, back to Mahogany Town, and the Gym.


	17. Chapter 17

A man in his mid fifties stood looking out at the water, he wore a brown cowboy hat, a heavy jacket, and brown slacks

**Chapter 17 – Red's Message! (Vs. Ditto)**

A week after resuming his training with his former teacher, Jake had accepted over forty challenges, and defeated every challenger.

This, along with a week of intensive training was preparing him for a long and grueling struggle to survive the harshness of the ice cave.

"Well done, Jake," Koga called from across the field as Cole defeated a wild Bellsprout.

The Cyndaquil panted heavily. He had never been through such a battle, and it was obvious that he was doing well.

"Alright Cole, good job! Let's finish up with an Ember attack," Jake shouted as the Bellsprout's companions began their attack.

Cole stopped. The attack was bearing down on him but Cole remained fixed. He shivered horribly, as Jake tried to gain his attention. "Cole! C'mon buddy; this is no time to freeze up,"

As the attack fell, Cole squealed. His body began to change into another form. When the transformation was complete, the quills on his back had partially disappeared leaving a few around his neck, and a few on the top of his head.

Jake's pokedex began to beep, and Jake pulled it out of his pocket. He read the message that was appearing on the screen aloud. "Congratulations! Your Cyndaquil has evolved into Quilava."

"A Quilava huh? Alright Cole, let's see how your Flamethrower works out," Jake commanded with a lopsided grin.

Cole opened his mouth and unleashed a torrent of flames. With a loud cry, the frightened and out-gunned Bellsprout all disappeared into the forest near the lake.

Jake watched them flee while Cole tried to chase them down.

"Hold it there Cole! No need to get blood-thirsty," He called after Cole, who seemed to want to chase the grass-types and finish them off.

While Jake trained, Koga stood on the branch of a nearby tree. With the threat of assassins around every turn, Jake would need someone watching over him while he couldn't watch himself. _Though, I can't do this forever…_ Koga thought to himself as he watched Jake's Quilava happily eat a pokeblock. "Hmm?" Koga noticed Jake's Pokegear lying on the ground by the tree. He jumped out of the tree and picked it up as it began to ring.

"Is that my Pokegear," Jake called back to Koga.

"Yes. It seems you have an incoming call," Koga announced, "from Mahogany Gym."

Jake grabbed the Pokegear and answered. "Hello?"

"Jake, there's a package here that's addressed to you, and Claire of Blackthorn City has been calling all day looking for you." Johnny droned.

"What does she want?"

Johnny stifled a yawn and droned on in a monotone voice. "She wants to know why you're not in the gym…"

Jake glanced over at Koga who'd become obsessed with cleaning some dirt from under his fingernails with a shuriken. "Did you tell her that I'm out training?"

"Hang on…" the sound of papers rustling seemed to be all that Jake could hear until Johnny came back on, "…she said (and I quote) you have a gym now; that's where you train. She went on to say that if you're not back in the gym by the next time she calls, she was gonna come over and stuff you in a dumpster…"

Koga glanced up immediately.

"Damn… that sounds a bit harsh," Jake said while sniggering to himself. He had heard about her brutal attitude but had never experienced it first hand.

"No, actually I made that last part up, but she did say it was gonna be bad…" Johnny added finally.

"We're on our way," Jake announced before hanging up the phone.

"I'm not," Koga answered, "I've got to go back to the Elite Four and tell them what you told me about The Titans. If they're as bad as you say, we'll need to be ready to fight them."

"What about my training?"

"You're fine as it is. I have evaluated and decided that you are no longer in need of my instruction," Koga replied as he stepped into the clearing.

Jake grinned, "It's the Mask of Ice crisis all over again huh?"

"Not this time. I'm not abandoning you with a false hope… this time I believe in you and your abilities," Koga replied.

Jake looked up at Koga. "If you ever see Sabrina again, give her my love…" Jake said.

Koga knew immediately who Jake was talking about. "Jake, I want you to know that you're wasting your efforts. She's never loved anyone, and you're no exception."

"I thought maybe I could change her." Jake said weakly.

"I know…"

Back at the Mahogany Gym, Jake was greeted by a phone call from Blaire of Blackthorn City.

"Brooks, where were you," She asked directly.

"Training."

"You have…" She started but Jake finished for her.

"…A Gym now; that's where I train."

"Exactly. You see, challengers can't win badges from a gym that doesn't have a gym leader," Blaire lectured.

"It won't happen again. My mentor has gone back, and I'm ready to accept any challenge," Jake answered.

"Excellent. I'll call back within the hour," Blaire answered.

"Yes ma'am." Jake hung up the phone.

Johnny who had been listening suddenly handed Jake a disc. "That's what the deliverer gave me."

"It's a DVD," Jake said to himself. He plugged it into the DVD player sitting in the back corner of his office.

The DVD displayed static at first and then Red's face appeared on the screen.

"Jake, I need you to meet me in the ice cave west of Mahogany Town. Come alone." The DVD went back into static, and then ejected itself.

"Jake?" Johnny looked dumbfounded. "That was the Champion from six years ago wasn't it?"

"Yep. That's the great Red. I guess he wants me to bail 'em out of another jam," Jake chuckled.

He could just hear Red now: "You didn't save me Jake, Poliwag-erm Poliwhirl did."

"Technically I did. I let 'em out of the ball." Jake would always reply.

Jake walked outside and threw out Rapidash's pokeball. "C'mon partner, I need a ride."

Rapidash whinnied and stomped his foot. He was ready to go, and Jake knew it.

"Johnny, if I'm not back by tonight…" Jake handed some cash to Johnny, "…order out."

Johnny took the wad of cash and pocketed it. "I don't like your cooking anyway… you use too much salt."

Jake raised an eyebrow at Johnny and smiled. "I'll see ya later," He said turning around and climbing on Rapidash's back. Jake turned him around, and they rode away towards the west.

As they neared the ice cave, the sun began to set. Jake had hoped that Red wasn't in some kind of trouble, because the kind of trouble Red usually got into spelled bad news for the world.

_Maybe he wants to congratulate me on my appointment as Gym Leader… no he would come to the gym. _Many thoughts were racing through Jake's mind as they came to the cave's entrance.

"Hello? Red! Where are you," Jake shouted, only to be answered by his own echo.

He walked farther into the cave, and then saw him lying on the ice, with his back to Jake.

"RED!!" Jake shouted as he ran out onto the ice, and stopped at Red's body. "Damn son! Who did this to ya?"

Red rolled over to face Jake. He smiled faintly and said "Ditto," in a funny sounding voice.

Jake stood up and took a few steps back. "What the hell?!"

Just as the words left his mouth, a shadowy figure slammed into him from behind, and pinned him against a nearby rock.

The last thing he saw before loosing consciousness was Red's form morphing into a purple blob. Jake gasped and then lost consciousness.


	18. Chapter 18

A man in his mid fifties stood looking out at the water, he wore a brown cowboy hat, a heavy jacket, and brown slacks

**Chapter 18 – Venus: The Lady of Ice (Vs. Jynx)**

"He wasn't so hard to take out; my granny coulda knocked his ass out."

"Yeah, well he was busy with the fact that his friend was hurt. I've heard things, man. If that really is the Mauville Kid, then we should really tie him up."

"Shut up, you two. There's no way that's the Mauville Kid. My friend saw the Kid's face, and said he had to be at least in his twenties. We're wastin' our time."

Jake's eyes opened slowly. Things were blurry at first, and then they became clear. A female, and two males stood on the other side of the cave with their backs turned to him. As Jake's eyes began to focus, he noticed they all wore Team Rocket uniforms.

Now was his chance to take them by surprise. Jake jumped to his feet and ran at the largest grunt, who was at least six feet tall. He leapt into the air, turned sideways, and thrust his boot in the direction he was moving.

The side-kick caught the grunt off guard, and threw him into the nearby cave wall.

The other male stood in disbelief as Jake pivoted on one foot and rammed his fist into the grunts face. With a pained cry, he fell to the floor clutching his face.

As Jake whirled to see where the female went, he was met with a solid black boot to the face, which knocked him off balance, and threw him to the ground.

She put one high-heeled boot to Jake's throat and pressed down.

Jake grabbed the boot, and rolled over, throwing her to the ground. As he stood up, he caught the larger male's punch with the left side of his face.

"Damn," He cursed loudly, staggering back.

The big man approached him but was sent flying back by a roundhouse to the face.

"Enough!" The smaller man yelled as he reached to his belt. "Go, Houndoom!!"

The hell-hound came out of the pokeball and grinned wickedly at Jake.

Jake reached to his belt and grabbed… nothing. "What?!" Jake looked down to see that his belt was gone. Come to think of it, his coat and blue shirt were gone too, leaving a black t-shirt.

Jake looked up and smiled innocently. "BYE!!" He turned and ran without looking back.

The female looked up at a large dark hole in the upper cave wall. "I'm sorry Lady Venus."

"It's fine Victoria. It's obvious that he is the Mauville Kid." Venus leapt out of the hole, and ran after him with amazing speed.

Jake came to a fork in the cave tunnels. "Damn, looks like we're gonna have a problem Rascal…" He looked down and saw that Rascal wasn't at his side. "Oh yeah… I told him to watch the gym."

"That's not the only problem you have." A female voice called from behind him.

Jake wheeled around and saw a woman wearing a skintight leather outfit. "And who're you?"

"I'm known by many names. You may call me Venus. I'm the one who shall kill you," Venus said.

"You know, you Rocket lackeys are getting to be a pain in my ass," Jake growled angrily.

"Surrender now and I promise your death will be painless. Try to run and I promise your death will be slow and cold." Venus spoke in a very dignified tone.

"Bite me!" Jake turned to run into the cave to the right, but was stopped by a sudden wall of ice.

"I see you've made your decision." Venus replied. "Jynx, take him."

A Jynx stepped out of the darkness, and used Ice Beam.

Jake skillfully dodged the ice attack and grinned. "If that's all you've got for me, then you might as well go home. I was trained by the best, and a single attack like that isn't going to help."

"Ahh. Of course, since you are the Mauville Kid," Venus said with a wicked grin.

Jake's eyes widened. "Who sent you?"

"An old friend of yours. He's been very anxious to see you disposed of since you are interfering with his plans."

Jake couldn't think of anyone, that she could be talking about.

"Oh, of course. You can't remember anything about that fateful day, except helplessly watching your father's murder." She looked down at her hand, and picked at a fingernail, "It would be terrible to if you found out that they weren't even after your father. They were after you…" She looked up as if she realized that she said too much. "Oops. I wasn't sure if you knew that."

"WHAT," Jake thundered. His anger was evident, and he was ready to strike. Jake ran at her.

Venus snapped her fingers, and Jynx responded with another Ice Beam. Jake dodged it, and kept running at her. Another Ice Beam attack just missed his head, and another barely hit right behind his heels.

Just as Jake drew his arm back to strike, an Ice Beam caught his feet, and brought him to a dead stop. "DAMN YOU!! I'LL FIND OUT WHO DID IT, AND I'LL BURY HIM! AND YOU WITH HIM," Jake shouted.

"Struck a nerve, did I?" Venus taunted.

Jake remained silent as the ice slowly made it's way up his leg.

"It doesn't matter in any case. You'll soon be dead." Venus added.

The ice was now up to his waist. Things were looking grim for Jake. "What happens when I'm dead? I have powerful friends, and I don't think they'd like it if I died."

Venus scoffed coldly. "Do you remember the trick with the Ditto? I'll easily fake your death, and pin it on Johnny Slade."

"Slade?"

"Oh, yes we know all about his real name, and the fake one he told you that day in the forest." Jake could see the evil in Venus's expression. "I'll pin your death on him, taking care of you both."

"They won't try a child for murder." Jake said quickly.

"Your friend Ben Cane then."

Jake growled.

"Everybody freeze!!" A voice shouted.

Venus looked over Jake's shoulder in surprise.

"Hmmm. It seems that I have a need to leave you, but know this Jake Brooks. I can find you at any time." Venus said placing a finger under Jake's chin.

She pulled out a smoke bomb, and smashed it on the ground. When the smoke dispersed, she and her Jynx were gone.

A tall slender figure came up behind him, and placed a warm hand on the side of Jake's neck.

Jake's instinct told him who it was, but he was still unprepared for her appearance.

"Are these your pokeballs," She asked, holding them in front of him so he could see.

"Y-yes…" Jake said, his teeth chattering as he spoke.

"You should have been more careful. Didn't Koga's training teach you anything?"

"Why did you come?"

"I foresaw my former student in danger, and came to help."

Jake shivered. "Former student" seemed a bit distant. Way more distant than "the girl whom he's been in love with for the last four years." "Thank you for your concern… Sabrina."


	19. Chapter 19

A man in his mid fifties stood looking out at the water, he wore a brown cowboy hat, a heavy jacket, and brown slacks

**Chapter 19 – Hilarious Haunter (Vs. Drowzee)**

At the exact moment that Jake had fallen under attack by the Ditto, Johnny was walking down main street in Mahogany Town with a brown paper bag tucked under one arm, and a large, raw steak in the other. Xander led the way, gracefully trotting, while Rascal on the other hand merely walked by Johnny's side.

They were just coming back from the Poke mart, where Johnny had bought food to feed his Pokemon, along with a quick detour to McDonald's which was connectedto the Poke mart.

The raw steak, he had bought for Rascal, whom Johnny had discovered wouldn't eat anything that couldn't be found on the African safari. This gave Johnny quite a thrill when he asked the cashier if he had any Girafarig meat, to which the cashier replied with a quizzical stare.

Johnny chuckled as he recalled the cashier's face. His recollection was short lived though as it was interrupted by a sharp scream from behind him, followed by: "He's got my purse!!"

Hearing that phrase one too many times, Johnny cringed and turned around to see a man in a dark sweater, and slacks running towards him, with a purse in hand.

Time slowed down to a crawl, as one thought passed through Johnny's mind. "What would Jake do," he whispered to himself as the thief closed the gap between them rapidly.

He glanced over at the abandoned store that he had stopped in front of, and spotted a discarded broomstick. Johnny set his groceries down, the plan still unfolding in his mind, and picked up the broomstick.

As the thief passed him, Johnny turned and hurled the stick at the back of his legs. The broomstickspun through the air like a , until it connected with soft flesh. Like a Monferno wrench that had been tossed into a machine, the thief had gotten the stick caught up in his legs. He came tumbling down to plant his face in the sidewalk, and groan in pain as blood began to trickle out of his nose.

A Haunter who had joined the crowd, pointed and began cackling at the fallen purse-snatcher.

The man rolled over and got up, "You think that's funny, do ya? Well, I'll give ya somethin' to laugh about! GO, Drowzee!!" He tossed out his Pokeball, and in a puff of smoke, a Drowzee appeared. He moved his hands around**,** in a hypnotic motion.

Haunter ignored the attempt at intimidation, as Johnny, Xander, and Rascal made their way through the gathering crowd.

The Haunter glided through the air gracefully as Johnny stepped out of the crowd, and drew out Slice's Pokeball. "Slice, GO! Use Metal Claw," he yelled, throwing the ball to the center of the invisible arena that was created by the perimeter of gawkers and onlookers. The ball opened into a puff of smoke allowing the form of a Scyther to come out of the ball. He took an offensive stance as he began the attack.

Slice's scythes hardened over with a coat of iron, and began to shine bright white. He uttered a battle cry and began sprinting at the opponent's Drowzee.

"Drowzee, use Confusion," the thief cried as the attack was about to fall. The Drozee acted quickly, as his eyes became encased in a light-blue aura. Slice's attack stopped in mid air and he stared into Drowzee's eyes. Suddenly he flew across the street into a nearby building, loudly crashing through the wall.

The black hole in the wall seemed empty for several seconds, until Johnny screamed "Slice!" As soon as the name left his mouth, a buzzing sound came from the hole. In a blur of speed, Slice tore out of the hole and flew at the Drowzee. His scythes hardened over, with the same coat of iron as before, as he attempted another Metal Claw attack.

Effortlessly, the Drowzee used Confusion to hurl him back in the direction he came from.

"Slice," Johnny cried. Slice stood up and growled. He looked around faintly and then fell.

Johnny felt a slight twinge at the back of his neck. He turned around and saw that the Drowzee was now targeting him.

The thief wore a malicious grin. "Your turn," he said.

Johnny wanted to fight back, but he knew that Xander and Abra were no match for Drowzee's Confusion attack.

Drowzee's eye began to glow again, but this time he was distracted by a small black sphere that had rolled up to his feet.

At the sight of this sphere, people began to scream and run away, as they noticed a short fuse that was burning.

Johnny became paralyzed by fear, as he realized they would all be killed in the explosion. His legs felt like jelly as he turned to run, causing him to stumble and fall. He rolled over just in time to see the fuse reach the bomb and fizzle out.

A flag that read "BANG" shot out of the hole where the fuse had been inserted, causing the Haunter (who hadn't even flinched) to laugh furiously. His horrid cackle carried throughout the streets and echoed off of the buildings.

"Why you…" the thief turned his glare toward the Haunter.

Haunter glanced up innocently and then phased out into nothingness.

Just as the thief looked around for the prankster, he reappeared right beside the thief's head. Haunter's tongue extended from his mouth and slapped onto the man's cheek, dragging across his face to the other cheek.

The thief began to shiver horribly, and fell to the ground. "Ahhhhh!"

Johnny slowly started to grin. His lips curved upward until they couldn't go any farther, and then he began to laugh. "That was awesome!" Johnny laughed loudly. The Haunter began to cackle along with Johnny until they were both on the ground clutching their sides.

"Is there a problem here?" A voice interrupted. "We got a report of a bomb."

Johnny looked up at a woman in grey Kevlar body armor. The name Jenny was printed clearly above her left chest pocket, and SWAT was printed above the right. Johnny began to laugh harder and pointed at the man who lay on the ground shivering. "That's… that's… that's him right there!" he shouted through uncontrollable fits of laughter. "And the funny part is… it wasn't even that funny!" he cried as tears began to roll down his cheeks.

"You and your Haunter need professional help…" she sighed as two of her male colleagues handcuffed the purse-snatcher.

"He's not even mine!" Johnny shouted as he wiped away tears. Finally the uncontrollable laughter was coming to an end, as the Haunter also began to settle down. Johnny chuckled slightly after seeing the look on the thief's face as he crumpled to the ground.

Johnny looked up, and saw that Rascal was gone. "Rascal? RASCAL!!" He looked at the Haunter who still hadn't left yet. Frantically, Johnny began to run down the street. Soon, he and Haunter had reached the edge of town with no sight of Rascal anywhere. "I've gotta find him, Haunter… will you help me?" Johnny said to the ghost-type.

Haunter looked at the ground and then at Johnny. He nodded and began to circle Johnny's head happily, and then reached into Johnny's pocket and pulled out an empty Pokeball.

At first, Johnny didn't get the message, but then he understood. Haunter wanted Johnny to catch him. He took a deep breath and took the ball from Haunter's outstretched hand. He lightly touched the ball to Haunter's forehead, and the ball sucked Haunter in automatically. There was no struggle, just the sound of the Pokeball sealing.

Johnny called him back out, and began running toward the Ice Cave where Jake was supposed to meet Red. _Maybe Jake and Red can help me__, _Johnny thought to himself as they ran.

Suddenly he was stopped by a voice that called out. "Hey you!"

Johnny stopped and looked back to see a boy in his mid teens, walking up to him. He wore a black leather jacket, blue jeans and a white t-shirt. Aviator sunglasses covered his eyes making him seem a little bit older. "What's the rush?" he asked.

"I'm trying to find my friend's Luxray," Johnny said quickly.

The boy scratched his head and looked down the road. "I saw a Luxray come through here. A piece of his left ear was missing, and there was a scar down his left foreleg."

"That's him!"

"Alright. He went this way. By the way, my name is Jesse, Jesse James."

"Johnny Sl—erm Goode**,**" Johnny stammered.

Together, they sprinted down the road in search of Rascal.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 – Outlaws Clash

**Chapter 20 – Back in Black**

Jake shivered while Sabrina threw took out a syringe filled with a orange liquid and injected it into the ice. Soon the spot where she injected it began to rapidly melt away.

Jake's arms and hands were the first things to be free of the ice, which he flexed until he could feel them again. "Thank you." He said timidly.

"What were you doing out here?" She asked sternly as though she were his protector.

"I had gotten a message from Red to meet him here. Turns out it was just a setup by Team Rocket." Jake said, flexing his legs.

Sabrina looked up quickly. "Team Rocket? You must be mistaken."

"I saw 'em as plain as day, sweetheart." Jake replied in irritation.

"I'd know if they'd sent out an order to kill you."

Jake looked back at her. "Who gave the order?"

Sabrina stared into his cold-gray eyes, and sighed. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you this."

"Tell me what?"

"Lt. Surge thinks that there's a splinter cell among us. They're radicals that want to turn Team Rocket into a full-scale army, instead of an organized crime syndicate. If they were to do this, the region would be reduced to chaos and then Team Rocket would lose profit." Sabrina looked away. "Do you understand what this means?"

Jake stared intently at her. "Yeah… it means Team Rocket is circling the drain, and you want me to stop it."

Sabrina nodded. She picked up a bag and tossed it to Jake.

Jake looked up from the bag at Sabrina and then back again. Reluctantly he opened it and was amazed at what he found. "You want the Mauville Kid to come out of retirement."

Sabrina smiled slyly. "That's exactly what I want."

Jake took out a mask, one that he hadn't worn for three years. It was solid black with eyes that (in Jake's opinion) resembled Spider-Man's eyes. Also included was a black t-shirt, a black pair of denim cargo pants, his two katanas and several other weapons employed by ninjas.

"Am I doin' this for free then," Jake asked.

"Of course not, You'll be fully compensated." Sabrina replied.

"Fine. I'll do it," Jake said.

"Good. Your first mission is to eliminate Venus. I don't care how, just do it. As a matter of fact, I have some evidence that links her to several murders in the Orre Region." Sabrina said, tossing Jake a plastic bag, that contained photos and a couple DVD recordings.

Jake carefully looked at it and threw it into the bag. "Will do," He replied, tipping his hat to Sabrina. Jake turned and walked away. As he started to leave, he heard the footsteps of a pokemon.

They were silent enough that anyone not trained in the way of the ninja would never hear them. Jake could barely hear them himself.

Jake grinned and whistled to which a deep resonating growl came as a reply.

"C'mon out Rascal," Jake called to him.

The Luxray approached Jake with a mischievous grin, as if to say "Welcome back."

Jake returned the grin and stroked the lion Pokemon's mane. "Let's go."

Lake Of Rage

An Hour Later

Venus stood in the motor pool of the secret base. The base itself had taken months to design and build. It was a shame to have to watch it go to waste, but it was a necessary sacrifice, in the event that the Mauville Kid found them.

"Hurry up with those crates," She shouted to two grunts who'd been arguing about the contents of the crate. "If we don't get out of here quick, he'll find us!"

A nearby crane was loading one of the larger crates onto the truck, when suddenly a silver blur shot out from the shadows and severed the wire that connected the hook to the winch. The crate dropped from the air and crashed open allowing several hundred different parts to go flying everywhere.

Venus grumbled to herself, not noticing the silver blur. She sauntered over to the mess and picked up the severed wire. "A clean cut? Someone… sound the…" She stopped after feeling something cold and sharp gingerly press against her throat.

"Lady Venus I presume." A dark and cold voice whispered into her ear.

All of the workers had stopped and were now watching the figure that she couldn't see.

"I understand you are an excellent sword fighter." The voice whispered.

"Yes, I am," she replied, her confidence restored, "and you are no match for me."

The sharp blade left her throat and she was allowed to turn around. "Of course not, that's why you try to kill me psychologically and physically when I'm unprepared, and unprotected." The dark voice replied from under his skin-tight black mask. Suddenly he threw her one of his katana and took up a defensive stance. "This time, it's between you and me… no Pokemon. Let our blades do the fighting."

She grinned wickedly at her foe. "You'll die this time Kid."

She swung the blade through the air, and was denied by the Kid's blade. He was faster than she had thought, and more agile and skilled than the clumsy oaf that she had met in the ice cave back towards Blackthorn City.

It seemed as though when he put the mask on, there was a different mentality altogether.

Venus attacked several times, and each attack was parried by the Kid. Suddenly the Kid swung out at her. Time slowed down as the blade opened a thin red line on her left arm.

Blood began to slowly run from the shallow cut as time returned to its normal pace. There was no pain, but she became angered at the fact that this brat had the audacity to cut her, to challenge her in her own base of operations, and to cut her.

Her pace quickened and she began to swing faster and harder at her foe, but to no avail as he still seemed to have agility and speed to spare.

"Damn you!" She finally screeched. What was wrong with her?! No one intimidated her like he was doing now. She took one final swing and managed so create a long gash across his chest, but it wasn't fatal as the attack failed to penetrate the sternum.

The Kid looked down at his chest, and then up at her. Venus could just imagine the mocking grin under that black mask.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you meant to do that." He replied.

Even his voice sounded like the corners of his lips were curling upward.

"I'll kill you!" She screeched lunging at him, but was stopped by a black combat boot to the stomach. In one fluid motion, he took her arms and rolled on his back, using his leverage to his advantage, and launching her in the direction he rolled. She hit the metal floor and dropped the katana.

The Kid approached her with his blade pointed at her.

Venus scuttled back, still facing him, knowing that she would die now.

"Where is Broken Sword," he growled in his cold voice.

"I don't know. He was employed by my master, that doesn't mean I know every move he makes," Venus replied, now seeming unsure of herself.

The Kid looked back at the massing crowd. "I've called the police already." As soon as he said it, sirens could be heard from down the road.

The grunts began to scatter as moving vans started to rev up and speed out of the motor pool, leaving boxes and crates lying on the floor.

The Kid looked back and saw that Venus was trying to slink away. "Not you," he said taking out a rope as the last of the grunts fled. "I've arranged a meeting for you with the police." He tied her to a nearby support column and through a plastic bag at her feet. Picking up the katana that Venus had dropped, he sheathed it and walked away.

"Wait! I know who you are! I'll tell the police and you'll do time just like me!" She screamed.

The Kid unsheathed his katana and held it under her chin. "Know this: I can find you any time and any where. Think about that before you spill your guts." He turned and walked away.

As he walked away, he was joined by his Luxray and they disappeared into the forest outside of the base.

Johnny and Jesse hurried out of the ice caves. "JAKE!" Johnny shouted, but was only answered by his own echo.

Suddenly Jake's PokeGear began to ring with the caller id reading "Private Number".

Johnny answered it and in a flustered tone said, "Hello?!"

Jake's voice on the other line seemed happy as usual. "Hey Johnny, where ya at boy? As soon as I got back, Rascal 'n' me decided to go to McDonald's!"

Johnny hung his head and sighed. "Am I in trouble?"

"For what? Rascal's a free spirit. I can't get people to watch after him. I left him to watch after you, and apparently he did a good job. Now why don't you and your new friends come on back to the gym and have some Mickey D's?"

Johnny smiled slightly. "Okay Jake."

Jake grinned as he hung up the PokeGear, and looked down from the tree branch he was standing, that had a perfect view of Johnny, and his two new friends. He dialed the number to McDonald's

"Hi, I'd like three quarter pounders, and three medium soft drinks delivered to Mahogany Gym please."

When he heard the price, he smiled and replied, "Thank you very much and I'll meet your delivery boy at the door."

Jake turned and hopped out of the tree, and began running as fast as he could to Mahogany Town, with Rascal right by his side.


End file.
